Who Doctors the Doctor?
by DutchLady
Summary: A badly injured Doctor lands inside the Torchwood Hub, but he is not the only who needs help. Rated M, due to violence. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

**Welcome to my new story!**

**Author notes: This takes place two years and three months after the events of 'Journey's End'. 'The Next Doctor' and 'Planet of the Dead' have already happened for the Doctor, but those two episodes are not mentioned. This intro is a bit short, I know. The chapter's will be longer.**

**Thanks to Gloomy-Pealrz for beta-ing.**

**Thanks to Marcus S. Lazarus for general advice and pre-reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, and I probably never will.**

* * *

The setting sun had a deep purple hue.

It was nothing like Martha had ever seen before. Oh, she had seen plenty of alien sunsets, but this one had gone straight to her top ten list; it might have even reached the number one spot.

As she stood on the alien beach looking at that purple sunset, Martha remembered the last three months. Hell, even the two years before _that_. After the Daleks had stolen the Earth and the Doctor had put it back, so much had happened; she had watched Tish get married to James and three months later divorce him, she had married Tom and she had watched her parents getting remarried, continue to fight and later divorce for a second time.

And through all that time Martha had lived in hell; a hell only she knew about, a hell from which the Doctor had saved her.

And in return she saved him, simply by going with him again. Martha had asked him and he said okay, because even the Doctor sometimes needed a hand to hold.

Together they travelled all of time and space again.

At times it boggled her mind; so much had happened, so much pain; for her, her family and for the Doctor. Sometimes she would look at him and see that pain.

Whereas Martha's pain was emotional and part physical, the Doctor's was all physical. The scars on his body would remain with him throughout the remainder of this regeneration.

The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS that stood behind her. He came up to her and took her hand in his.

Together they looked at the deep purple sunset and remembering the last three months.

* * *


	2. Two Doctors

**Three months ago**

It was three o'clock in the morning and all was quiet inside the Torchwood Hub, even Myfanwy. Gwen was at home with Rhys, and Mickey and Ianto had gone home about two hours ago.

Jack sat in his chair just outside his office, staring at the Rift Manipulator. He'd been here for a long time and he still was a bit in awe of the machine. It scared him that they were in control of it… well, most of the time anyway. Most of time he had to run very fast to catch whatever came through the Rift.

Jack looked up as a strange sound filled the air, but it was a sound that wasn't so strange to Jack. He'd heard the sound before; it was a sound he loved, because it was the sound of the TARDIS. Jack jumped to his feet, eager to welcome the owner of the ship.

But the Doctor didn't emerge from the ship.

Jack walked over to the blue box and knocked on the door.

"Doctor…? I know you're intimidated by my natural brilliant looks, but that is no reason to run and hide from me!"

He had a key, but the TARDIS was the Doctor's home and one just didn't barge into one's home unannounced.

Jack knocked again. "Doctor…?" He was getting worried now.

There was no answer.

Jack looked at the closed door in front of him. He didn't want to do this. He pulled his key ring from his pocket and identified the TARDIS key. He put the key in the lock and stopped. He balled his hand into a fist and banged on the door.

"Doc, are you in there…?" Jack sounded _truly_ worried now. "I don't want to invade your privacy, but if you don't open the door then I'm coming in."

Still, there was no answer. Jack sighed and turned the key and gingerly opened the door; it gave its usual creaking sound.

Jack peered around the door. At first glance the console room was empty, but then Jack spotted something, or rather someone, who was lying very still behind the console.

Instantly, Jack recognized the familiar brown pinstriped suit.

Abandoning all reservations about entering the TARDIS without the Doctor's consent, Jack ran around the console and crouched down beside the Doctor's unconscious form.

The Doctor looked awful, he was extremely pallid underneath a lot of bruises; if it wasn't for that suit and mob of hair, Jack would've hardly recognized his friend.

His suit was torn in several places and several deep lacerations were visible as well. From the once-over, Jack deduced that the Doctor's right arm was both dislocated and broken, and his left leg was in an awkward position as well; that was broken too. And that was only what Jack could see; he had no way of knowing what kind of internal injuries that the Doctor had sustained.

Jack pressed two fingers against Doctor's neck and he could feel the slow but steady twin heartbeats.

Gingerly he placed a hand on the Doctor's forehead, stroking his fringe away. "Oh Doctor, what the hell happened to you…?"

The TARDIS' hum increased for a second, catching Jack's attention. Jack placed his hand on the console. "Don't worry girl… we'll fix him. I promise."

Briefly, the console became a bit warmer. Jack patted the console and stood up. While checking that the Doctor was still breathing and his heart rates were still stable, Jack dug his phone from his pocket.

Martha was not going to happy about being called out of bed at this hour of the night; allthough… it _did_ concern the Doctor.

*****

Martha slung her backpack over her shoulder as she walked out of the hospital and towards her car; with her other hand she rubbed her face. It had been a long day, an extremely long day.

No matter how hard she had tried, UNIT wouldn't get rid of the Osterhagen Key. She had clashed with several high ranking officers and had ultimately called Sir Alistair. Martha had been able to convince the man from the importance that the Osterhagen Key _had_ to be dismantled. The retired Brigadier still held a few favors with those same ranking officers and had clashed with them as well.

The Osterhagen Key was still in place.

Ultimately, Martha had been unable to continue her work at UNIT with a clear conscious and she had resigned.

She now worked in the A&E department in the same hospital as Tom, and in that department she fought like a lion every day to save lives. But sometimes her fighting skills were not enough and today she had lost two patients. A husband and wife, only married for three months, had been in a hit and run accident. The driver of the car was still not found; he probably never would.

As Martha drove home, she rolled the window down, letting the cool night air in. She turned her face to the open window, enjoying the feel of the cool air; it helped her to stay awake. She could work endlessly without feeling fatigued, but the second she would get in her car to drive home, she would feel exhausted. Not if she would sit down for a quick cup of coffee or if she sat down and talked to family members of patients; _only_ when she got in her car. Maybe it was just her body allowing it to then feel fatigue.

Martha pulled into the driveway and stopped her car beside Tom's. This week they worked deferent shifts, so her car had to be out of the way of his.

Unlocking the door she called out: "Tom…? Are you home?"

There was no reply.

Martha checked the time 11:18 PM.

She took a quick shower and went to the bedroom. There was a form on the bed, Tom. Carefully, so as not to wake him, Martha slid in bed next to him. She turned on the light on her nightstand and grabbed her book. Only twenty five pages to go and she really wanted to know how it ended.

Next thing she knew, Tom's alarm clock woke her up.

"What time is it?" she croaked out.

"It is 1 AM… go back to sleep," came the soft voice of her husband. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and left Martha alone in the large bed.

Martha gave a sigh, turned on her other side and instantly fell asleep again. She never heard Tom leave for work or her book falling to the floor.

A few seconds later, but in reality 2 hours, a persistent ringing sound, entered into her subconscious. It took her a few moments to identify the ringing sound as her phone. Without opening her eyes, she stretched her hand out and fumbled for the object, her fingers clasped around it and her arm pulled it towards her. With her eyes still closed she brought the phone to her ear.

"Yes…" she said.

Five minutes later Martha was in her car on her way to Cardiff; to the Doctor.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	3. Ten helping hands

"Yes…" a sleep-ridden Martha managed to say.

"Martha…? It's me, Jack," Jack said.

"Jack?" Martha said, sounding a bit more awake. "What's going on? It's three in the morning!"

"Martha, you have to come to Cardiff, now!"

"No, I don't. Not at three in the morning!"

"Yes, you have to come… it's the Doctor. He just crashed the TARDIS inside the Hub. Martha… he's very badly injured and I don't want to bring him to a hospital, so I called you."

"Oh, God…!" Martha sounded fully awake now. "Let me put you on speaker, while I dress."

There was a tone and Martha sounded a bit more far away now. "Talk to me, Jack."

Calm, cold and clinically, Jack gave her a report on the Doctor's condition. He left nothing out, Martha had to know everything. Over the phone, Martha talked Jack through everything on how to set up an IV. She ordered him not to move him until she got there. There was no way she could determine just _how_ badly he was injured over the phone; she was very worried about internal injuries. By the time Jack had set up the IV, Martha was already in her car on her way to Cardiff.

Jack hung up and made his way to the Hub's medical corner. Under orders from Martha, Jack was going to attach a heart monitor to the Doctor and then call the young doctor back. He'd seen the one the Doctor had in the Medical Bay, but couldn't make head or tails from it; so he decided to get a normal human one.

Jack did a quick mental calculation and deduced that Martha could be here in about 2 hours. It was the middle of the night; so with little traffic she could make good time.

Jack brought the heart monitor into the TARDIS –thank God the thing was on a trolley- and attached it just like Martha told him to do.

When he was almost ready a small moan came from the Doctor's lips.

"Hey, Doctor…" Jack whispered.

The Doctor opened his eyes ever so slightly. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

Jack bended over him and once again brushed the fringe from his friend's forehead. "Don't try to speak, Doctor. You're safe now and Martha is on her way to fix you right up. So you'd better conserve your energies for her."

The Doctor didn't respond. He simply closed his eyes again and drifted back into unconsciousness.

Once he had attached the heart monitor, Jack pulled out his phone again and called Gwen, Mickey and Ianto. All three of them were shocked, especially Mickey, and all told Jack they were on their way.

Quickly, Jack ran from the TARDIS and retrieved his long greatcoat and rolled it up into a ball as he made his way back inside. The Doctor's own coat hung over the support strut closest to the door; Jack grabbed that in passing.

Gingerly, almost as if handling a baby, Jack lifted the Doctor's head from the hard floor and stuffed his coat underneath and gently lowered his friends head onto it. Jack threw the Doctor's coat over the unconscious Time Lord as a blanket.

Jack sat down on the hard floor next to the other man, with his back against the console Jack waited; for his team, and Doctor Martha Jones to arrive.

*****

_The Doctor felt the TARDIS reach out to him. She comforted his mind; she tried to put him at ease._

_He knew that he was very badly injured. He remembered Jack comforting him, telling him that Martha was on her way to fix him. __Even in his unconscious state he knew, with help from the TARDIS, what was going on around him; s__he showed him that. _

_He was glad that Jack had called Martha. He hadn't spoken to the young doctor for a while, but he trusted her completely. He knew that Martha would do nothing to hurt him. So he waited for Martha to come and help him. _

_Even the Doctor knew when he needed help and he wasn't afraid to ask for it when needed. _

_And now he needed it. _

*****

It was 5:16 AM when the cogwheel rolled out of Martha's way and allowed her access to the Hub.

It had taken her an hour and fifty eight minutes to get to Cardiff. She could have gotten here faster if that stupid police officer hadn't pulled her over for speeding. The man had taken his time to write her ticket and after only five minutes Martha had been ready to punch the man. But she had bit her tongue and had said nothing; the only thing she wanted was to get to Cardiff, to the Doctor.

Having already spotted the TARDIS, Martha made her way across Torchwood HQ. She gave a quick nod to Gwen and Ianto and entered the Doctor's ship.

Martha had a strong stomach after everything she'd seen; in the hospital and out there amongst the stars, but her stomach clenched when she saw her friend; in her peripheral vision she saw Jack.

Lightning fast, she was at his side. Like Jack before her, she gently brushed his fringe from his forehead.

"Doctor…? It's OK… I'm here now and I'll let nothing bad happen to you ever again."

Martha pushed her own feelings aside and looked at the Doctor only as her patient. Her eyes flew over his body when she pulled his coat away. Quickly she took in the external injuries; noting the dislocated shoulder, the broken arm, the broken leg… the almost unrecognizable face.

"Have you moved him in _any_ way, Jack?" she asked cool and professional.

"No, I haven't, you ordered me not to, and I only stuffed my coat under his head."

Without looking up she said:"Go find a stretcher so we can move him into the Medical Bay."

"I'm on it," Mickey said and made his way to the door that led deeper into the TARDIS.

Startled, Martha looked up, she hadn't even been aware that he had been there.

Martha redirected her gaze towards the Doctor. She unbuttoned his jacket and shirt and slid her hand underneath the t-shirt he was wearing under that. She felt at least three broken ribs; an x-ray would give her a final answer.

Mickey returned with the stretcher and sat it down on the floor next to the prone Doctor. Martha made a dash for the door. "Gwen… Ianto, I need your help."

As she ran back, she heard Gwen and Ianto enter the TARDIS behind her.

"Right lady and gentlemen, on my word, gently and I mean _gently_, I want you, Jack, to very carefully slide your hands underneath his shoulders and lift him. Mickey, I want you to go to the Doctor's left and slide your hands underneath his back and hip. Ianto, I want you to do the same on the Doctor's right, but make sure that his arm is lifted up as well. I don't want to do more damage then that's caused already. I will lift up the Doctor's broken leg. Gwen, I want you to push the stretcher underneath him. We only need to lift him a bit, only that high that Gwen can push the stretcher under him. Everybody clear…?"

Four heads nodded in unison and everybody moved into position. Gwen sat down on her knees, grabbed the stretcher and pushed it a little closer to the Doctor so that it almost touched him.

Jack crouched by the Doctor's head and held his hands ready just above his shoulders. Ianto and Mickey were ready too.

"Everybody ready…? On three, one-two-three…"

An agonizing moan escaped from the Doctor's lips as eight hands lifted him only several centimetres. Quickly Gwen slid the stretcher beneath the Doctor.

"Good… and down…" Martha ordered.

Gently, the eight hands lowered the Doctor. Immediately, Martha checked the heart monitor. His hearts were beating slower.

"Ok, let's move him… fast… Jack and Ianto, you guys carry him. Gwen, you push the heart monitor, and Mickey and I'll clear the way for you."

Jack and Ianto lifted the stretcher, and carefully but swiftly carried the Doctor to the Medical Bay. When they'd reached it, the Doctor was placed on a bed and Martha made all four of them leave. She had to be alone for this.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	4. Remembering

Team Torchwood was pretending to be busy when Martha emerged from the TARDIS almost an hour and a half later. She looked tired and almost as pale as the Doctor had been. She dragged herself to the sofa that stood against a wall and dropped in it. Four anxious faces looked at her.

"Well, I've got him stabilised." Martha started. "I've set his dislocated shoulder and put his broken arm and leg in a cast. He has six broken fingers… I've taken care of his broken ribs, all five of them; can't do much about the bruised ones. I've treated all of his cuts and contusions, some of them were pretty bad and I had to put in a total of thirty seven stitches. It's only by miracle that he hasn't developed an infection and all of his organs were undamaged. I've got him on a NG tube and IV fluids containing vitamins, glucose; all courtesy of the TARDIS; it's all I _could_ do for him. He has to the rest himself."

"What are you not saying, Martha?" Jack asked the young doctor. From the look on Martha's face, he added: "I know you… there's something you're not telling."

Martha sat up a little straighter; she sighed. There were so many things about his injuries that didn't add up. Martha sighed again. "There were… burn marks all across his body, and some of the cuts…most of them are really deep, it is almost looks like… like…" Martha looked up and stared Jack straight in the eye.

"Jack, I think he was tortured…"

*****

**_Three days ago_**

_A cold splash of water woke the Doctor up. Coughing and blinking the water from his eyes, he tried to focus on his surroundings. He made to move, but found that he couldn't. He was in a seated position and was tied to a hard wooden chair. _

_When his vision cleared, he found himself in a semi-dark room. The room was empty save for the chair he was tied to. There was however a camera in front of him, a little red light blinking in the darkness; the thing was filming him. _

_Two men in black clothes stood in front of him. He instantly knew who they were; he had a perfect memory for faces. _

_Both of the men used to work on board the Valiant, for the Master. _

"_Wakey-wakey, Doctor…" one of the men said in a sing-song voice, underlined with menace. _

_The Doctor said nothing, just stared ahead. _

"_He said… wakey-wakey…" the other men said and backhanded him hard across the face,__ emphasising__ the point. _

_Stars danced in his eyes, but still the Doctor remained silent. _

_Out of nowhere man number 1 charged towards the Doctor, punching, kicking him everywhere and anywhere he could reach; his ribs, his chest, his face, everywhere. _

_After several minutes of pounding, the man got tired and stepped away from the Doctor. The other one cut the restraints tying the half conscious Doctor to the chair. Gravity took over and the Doctor slid from the chair and onto the floor. _

_He received a vicious kick to the head and blacked out. _

*****

Martha was about to re-enter the TARDIS to stay with the Doctor until he woke up, when the sentient ship beat her to it. The light on top gave a quick flash and very briefly she started her engines. The Hub was filled with the familiar sounds of the TARDIS' take-off.

Martha knew the TARDIS needed her attention and by instinct she knew the Doctor needed her.

Martha entered the ship and ran all the way back to the console room. Mentally she kicked herself; she should never have left the Doctor alone.

Martha burst into the Medical Bay. The Doctor was still unconscious… So why had the TARDIS alerted her?

Her expert eye went over the machines that were hooked up to the poor Time Lord. So far so good; his breathing was deep and steady, his hearts were beating slow, bit slightly irregular; that worried her. She had done a scan and almost miraculously there was no brain damage. But Martha suspected that if his injuries had been fatal, he would have regenerated by now.

A small moan came escaped the Doctor's lips and he cautiously opened his eyes ever so slightly. They lazily went through the room until they fixed on Martha.

Martha placed her hand on his wrist, carefully avoiding his broken fingers.

"Hey, you…" she whispered.

The Doctor made a sound in the back of his throat.

"No…" Martha said. "Don't try to speak. I'm here and I'm not letting anything bad happen to you ever again. I promise. You're going to be fine."

The Doctor looked at her; his eyes were dark with unimaginable pain.

"I'm here, Doctor," Martha repeated. "Go back to sleep, I'll still be here when you wake up."

The Doctor obeyed her and closed his eyes.

From a nearby cabinet Martha grabbed a syringe and a small bottle; all provided by the TARDIS. It was a painkiller she _could_ give him as he was allergic to all human kind. She injected him with 10cc of the solution and watched his heart monitor; his hearts began to beat a bit more steadily then before.

*****

_The Doctor woke up again. _

_He was lying on a hard concrete floor, but his world was spinning on all its axes none the less. Blinking, he tried to focus, but failed miserably. _

_His internal clock told him that he had been unconscious for about two hours. He was in a different room now. It was a lot smaller, it had no windows and the door was made of steel iron. _

_He could feel the planet turning below him. It felt familiar; Earth._

_The heavy metal door was opened and the same two men from before entered. Without a word they both grabbed the Doctor and hauled him to his feet._

"_Careful…!" the Doctor said. "I'm delicate you know." _

_The two men ignored him. As the Doctor was dragged back to the first room he'd been in, he couldn't help but wonder why he was here._

_The Doctor received a shock when the three men entered the room and he saw what was standing in the corner… the TARDIS. How had they managed in getting the girl in this small room? He hadn't landed it here…had he? Why couldn't he remember?_

_Man number 1 turned the video camera on again. Something else the Doctor didn't understand; what was it with the camera?_

_Even in his befuddled state, the Doctor could feel the TARDIS' comforting presence in his mind. So when man number two tied his wrists to cuffs hanging from the ceiling from a long chain and started__ pummelling__, the Doctor felt his mind being enclosed by the TARDIS. She shielded him from the worst of the physical pain. _

_Throughout the torture the Doctor didn't scream, he only let out the occasional grunt of pain. _

_But then he noticed a man standing there, in the shadows. He didn't__ recognise__ him, but the Doctor found his presence a little disconcerting. _

_The man stood there and just watched, with a small sneer on his face. _

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	5. Escape

The Doctor woke. He was lying on a soft and comfortable bed; he could feel it through his pain.

"Martha…?" He managed to croak out.

Martha's head shot up, she'd been sitting in a chair, her cheek cupped in her hand, dozing. She quickly got to her feet and slightly leant over her friend.

"Yeah…?" she said with a small smile.

"Water…" the Doctor said.

Martha grabbed a plastic cup with ice chips from a nearby cabinet and gently eased a few in the Doctor's mouth. He gave a content smile, as much as he could manage with his broken jaw.

The Doctor looked at her and gingerly lifted his non-injured arm and touched her hair.

"Yeah…" Martha said, touching it as well. "I cut it. I didn't like my long hair anymore."

"Nice… like it…" the Doctor whispered. "What… damage…" he added with a lot of effort.

Martha told him about the broken arm and leg, the broken ribs, all the stitches she had given him; everything. The Doctor looked at her groggily as he took it all in; almost detached. Then he raised his arm, touching her hair again.

"You really like my short hair, don't you?" Martha said with a warm smile.

"Not… that…" The Doctor lowered his arm and gently brushed against the bruise that was underneath her eye.

_A hand shot into view. It hit her, hard. She fell down. _

"Oh, that's nothing. A patient had a seizure and my face got in the way of his hand. It happens…" Martha assured him.

The Doctor just blinked at her and fell into unconsciousness again.

Martha sat back down in her chair and continued to watch over her friend.

*****

_Sometimes man number 3 was there and sometimes he wasn't. All the man did was watch as men numbers 1 and 2 continued to beat and torture the Doctor. But the Doctor never saw him properly, the man always stuck to the shadows._

_The Doctor had resorted to screaming now. He had been unable to keep it in. After 48 hours he was still hanging from the ceiling, restrained by the cuffs. _

_All that time the video camera filmed him._

_All that time the two men never asked him a question, they only hurt him._

_And all that time, freedom was close by. The TARDIS was _only_ three__ metres__ away. _

_The Doctor couldn't feel the TARDIS key in his pocket. Its absence was mocking him; making him feel weak because he couldn't find a way out of this. But he knew that there was a way, there was always a way. He just had to find it. _

_And after three days the opportunity came. Man number 3 had walked out after a nasty torture session with a battery pack, when the Doctor was finally released from the ceiling. He collapsed onto the ground and lost consciousness. _

_Or so they had thought. _

_The Doctor remained absolutely still as he received another kick in the ribs. After three days of endless pain, he could deal with this. _

_When he was alone, the Doctor rolled onto his back. He lay there for several minutes, trying to catch his breath after that simple movement. This was the first time that he had been alone in his 'torture chamber' and alone with the TARDIS. And that one moment was all he needed. _

_Maybe the men didn't think of him a threat all banged up and broken, because when they'd searched him, they hadn't removed the sonic screwdriver, but they had taken the TARDIS key. _

_On his elbows, he dragged himself towards his ship, feeling her presence everywhere inside his mind. She was encouraging him; urging him to the safety she could provide. _

_Without the key there was only one way to open the doors. _

_The Doctor raised his hand slowly and put his – thankfully unbroken - thumb and his broken index finger together. He snapped them, and tucked them under his armpit. That didn't stop his index finger from pounding with pain. _

_For a split second nothing happened. Then the TARDIS opened her doors for him. __Behind him he could hear men 1, 2 and 3 returning. __He could tell from the footsteps. _

_Once again he dragged himself forward and hooked his left arm around the doorframe. He heaved himself inside his ship. With his left hand he literally pulled his legs inside the ship; that was now humming at him in deep concern. _

_The three men opened the door and stepped inside their torture chamber and all three stopped dead in their tracks as they spotted the Doctor inside his TARDIS. _

_The Doctor reached towards the door and heard the satisfying crash as all three men collided with the now closed doors. _

_The Doctor rested for a few moments with his back against the door. _

'Take me to Jack'_ he thought. _

'I will,' _the TARDIS replied. _'But you have to take the handbrake off first' _She sounded apologetic, for asking him to cause himself more pain. But she and the Doctor both knew that they weren't going anywhere with the handbrake still on. _

'Pull the handbrake and I will take care of the rest, my Doctor'

_It took the Doctor almost twenty minutes to crawl around the console to where the handbrake was located._

_Once he'd stopped briefly and yelled at the door, a bit feebly it had to be said: 'Do you mind… I'm trying to escape here!' The banging on the door continued; the Doctor ignored it. _

_When he'd finally reached the correct part of the console, the Doctor reached up with his unbroken arm. His broken fingers clasped the handbrake and with his full weight, pulled it down. _

_He was about to lose consciousness for the millionth time in the last three days when he saw the central column starting to rise and fall. The familiar sounds of the TARDIS' take-off reverberated in his ears. _

_He was on his way to his friends; on his way to help. _

*****

Jack had joined Martha when the Doctor woke again. Jack was wide awake, while Martha was asleep on the adjoining bed.

Jack got his feet and moved over to the Doctor.

"There are those pretty brown eyes…" Jack said cheekily.

The Doctor looked at him and smiled a bit. "Pretty…eyes…what about…Ianto?"

Jack chuckled. "Well, Ianto's eyes are gorgeous, yours are pretty."

The Doctor chuckled as well, resulting in him gasping in pain.

"Easy, Doctor, easy…! I don't want you in any more pain; Martha will kill me for causing you more pain."

The Doctor settled again. "Could you give some water, please?"

"Sure."

Jack took the plastic cup and poured some of the melted ice chips in the Doctor's mouth. Gratefully, the Doctor swallowed.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked.

"Sore… all… over…" the Doctor replied.

"I figured as much. Well, Martha made a pretty good job of patching you up so far. So, I think it's best to follow doctor's orders and rest. Martha can be a bit scary when she wants to."

"Don't I…know it…You're talking…about a woman who…stared down several Daleks and…the Master and…is Francine's daughter. I know…how scary…she can be. Take my word for it…I'm not getting out of this…bed for a while."

Jack nodded. "It's good to hear your voice again. But you should go back to sleep, you need your rest."

The Doctor didn't nod; he just closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	6. All is not well with Doctor Jones

The Doctor woke up to the sound of Martha's voice. She was clearly talking to someone on her mobile. He could hear her faintly, as she was just outside the door.

"… I know, but I can't just leave him. He's badly injured."

Silence.

"I'll be home as soon as the Doctor is well enough to not need constant medical attention."

Another silence.

"Tom, please… the Doctor is my friend… Yes, I understand… I'll come home as soon as I can."

Martha hung up. From the shadows that came from the corridor, the Doctor could tell that she was leaning against the wall.

"Martha…" he called.

Immediately Martha was at his side again. "What's wrong?" she asked.

The Doctor looked at her with an expression that said: 'do you have to ask?'

"Sorry," Martha whispered.

"Is something wrong at home?" the Doctor asked.

"No… well… I kind of left in a hurry and didn't leave a note for Tom and he was worried."

The Doctor just looked at her. "Martha… Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, of course, why do you ask?"

"You seem… different," the Doctor said, and even in his current state, Martha could hear the concern.

"I have a lot on my mind, you know; work, my family, Tish's divorce… A lot has happened."

"Tell me…" the Doctor insisted.

"Doctor…" Martha said exasperated.

"_Tell me…_" the Doctor insisted with more emphasis.

"No mister… I'm not going to tire you with my silly concerns; you have to rest now. Because lately you've had it rougher than I did, and now I need to look out for you. Would you mind awfully if I went to my old room and got a few hours of proper sleep?"

"No… of course not," the Doctor said sincerely.

Martha nodded. "I'll ask Jack to keep an eye on you and no buts about it, mister."

*****

_She knew she was dreaming._

_She knew that she should be safe in a dream. _

_But she wasn't. _

_Because even in her dreams he found her and he hurt her. _

_He chased her through places that she didn't know. _

_He chases her through places she did know: the hospital, her mother's house, her father's house, Tish's house and even her own. _

_He was always there, waiting in the darkness, waiting for her. _

_He was always there and he was never there. _

_He was there when she least expected it and when she expected it, he wasn't there. _

_He was a presence that always lingered in the back of her mind._

*****

The Doctor had woken up again and had found Jack at his bed side. The immortal man was smiling at him. Not in an I-want-to-shag-you way, but in an I-am-glad-you're-going-to-be-alright-my-friend way; the latter was of course the preferred one.

The two men were talking quietly, about nothing in particular. The Doctor felt a lot better and was even able to make his sentences understandable. Jack didn't dare get into the topic of the Doctor's kidnap and subsequent torture.

But then the Doctor said: "They never asked me anything…they just hit me and hurt me…"

"That was it? " Jack asked, bewildered and intrigued at the same time. "But that doesn't make sense, kidnapping a man only to torture him. If you kidnap…there's usually a reason."

"If there was one, I wasn't able to figure it out," the Doctor fell silent and added quietly: "They were filming me…"

Jack's head shot up. "Oh my god! They filmed you?! But that's… that's… sick! Is that _all_ they did; hurt you and film you?"

Carefully the Doctor nodded; it still hurt his head. He'd been safe now for almost eighteen hours. Time Lords healed faster than humans and he could feel that the small abrasions and bruises were already healing. His broken arm and leg would take about two weeks to heal completely and he was fairly sure that within a day or two he should be able to get out of bed and walk around with Jack's help and after about five days he should be able to start walking again on his own.

"Jack…?" the Doctor asked.

Jack was pulled out of his musings. "Mm…yeah?"

"Have you noticed something about Martha?" the Doctor said a bit worriedly.

"Er…no…not really… Why?" Jack asked a bit bemused.

"Didn't you notice the bruise under her eye?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah, I did and when I asked she said that a patient of hers had a seizure and had hit her. If Martha says that's the reason, than I have no reason to doubt her."

The Doctor said nothing, just muttered a small agreement. Jack was right; they had no reason to doubt Martha.

Out of nowhere they both heard a scream; it had come from inside the TARDIS.

It had come from Martha.

Instantly Jack was on his feet and ran from the Medical Bay, leaving the Doctor behind and cursing himself. Usually when people screamed, the Doctor ran to their rescue, but at the moment he wasn't capable of that. Bedridden the Doctor waited.

*****

Martha woke with a start and saw Jack looming over her. She shrank back deeper into the covers. Jack must have noticed the wary look in her eyes because he backed away slightly.

He held up his hands. "It's OK… it's only me."

"Jack? What are you doing here?" Martha muttered.

"We heard you screaming. Were you having a nightmare?" Jack asked concerned.

"Yeah…"

"About…?" Jack asked gently.

"I don't want to talk about it," Martha said testily.

"Martha…?"

"I said that I don't want to talk about."

Jack dropped the subject.

"How's the Doctor doing?" Martha asked.

"I think he's getting a bit better. He can talk more clearly, he can sit up a bit and you can already start to see the bruises in his face are beginning to heal. The man sure is a fast healer."

"Good, now if you will excuse me… I want to get dressed and check on the Doctor."

"What?! I can't watch?" Jack asked innocently.

Martha sighed and rolled her eyes. The man just couldn't restrain himself.

Martha merely pointed at the door. "Out…"

Then it was Jack's turn to sigh and roll his eyes, but he did leave the room, muttering under his breath that Martha was mean.

Martha laughed as she watched him go.

She took a quick shower and was back with the Doctor after only ten minutes.

"Hi…" she said.

"Hi…" the Doctor answered. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, bad dream that's all." There was no point in denying it; he would have heard her scream.

The Doctor looked at her. "About what...?"

"God, what is it with you and Jack! I had a bad dream, everybody has bad dreams."

Martha's small outburst was interrupted when her mobile rang. She took it from her pocket and looked at it and paled a bit.

"Excuse me…" she muttered and left the Medical Bay.

Once again, the Doctor could only make out Martha's side of the conversation. And the person that was talking wasn't Martha; it was a shell of the person that the Doctor knew was Martha.

When she returned the Doctor could see that the young doctor was on the verge of tears.

He struggled to sit up a bit straighter. It hurt like hell, but he wasn't going to show that.

"What's wrong?" he asked concerned.

Martha took a deep breath. "That was Tom. The hospital wanted to know why I hadn't shown up for work. They're really mad. If I'm not back by tomorrow, they'll sack me. Tom was pretty clear about it."

"Then go home…" the Doctor insisted.

"But I can't… you need me…"

"Martha, I know that I have a long way to go before I'm healed. But I'm Time Lord and I heal pretty fast. I should be up in about a week. And what will you do in the meantime? Sit here and hold my hand?"

Martha sighed. It had only been about twenty four hours that the Doctor had shown up inside Torchwood, and he was already doing a lot better. But she was a doctor and he was her patient, and she couldn't just leave him.

"Martha, I promise you that I'll be fine. Jack and his team will look after me, I've got the medical knowledge myself, and so I'll be fine. I promise I'll come and visit you when I'm fighting fit again and then I'll take you out to dinner to thank you properly."

The Doctor had a look in his eyes that wasn't going to take no for an answer; so Martha conceded, but she still needed a bit of reassurance.

"But I want you to call me if things go wrong for you! I'll be back in my car and here in two hours again and then I won't care about my job. Got it…!"

"Got it…" the Doctor said meekly.

Martha nodded.

He watched as Martha left the Medical Bay. Something was wrong, he was sure of it. There was something that the young doctor wasn't telling him. He knew Martha and he was sure that Martha knew that when she needed his help, she would only have to ask, and he would give it, especially now after everything she had done for him. But Martha had a stubborn streak to her as well. It was something that he admired in her; it was something that he'd seen in her in the second they had met. But he was worried that the stubbornness was now causing Martha to not ask him for help.

He could only hope that Martha knew that he would come running if she needed him.

He hoped that she would call him.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	7. Oods and abuse

**Three weeks later**

The Doctor crouched down behind a crate and peered around it. A few meters to his right were Jack and Mickey, and a few to his left were Gwen and Ianto.

The five of them were in a huge warehouse, chasing a very scared but possibly deadly alien that had come through the Rift. It had showed up on the Rift scanners and the Doctor had recognized the reading that had specified exactly what had come though. It had happened twice before in his three weeks with Torchwood that something had come through and neither time had he tagged along. But this time, he felt like he had to, because he knew that only he could help this poor alien.

Why exactly the alien had come through the Rift, the Doctor didn't have a clue. Maybe he would never figure it out. There wasn't a Space-Time Rift running through the creature's home sector. But he was going to bring it home.

The Doctor was fighting fit again and he could leave whenever he wanted, but he had decided to hang around for a while. The Torchwood team had grown on him, he liked their company and even when he hadn't been fit, they had come to him for advice on certain aliens. And they had taken in what he had told them, seriously. They respected his opinion.

And there was the fact that he still hadn't a clue about who was behind his kidnap. He wasn't leaving until he found out. Jack had been completely willing to allow the Doctor access to the Torchwood computers and after a lot of digging, the Doctor was at a loss. Maybe he would never find out.

About a week ago Jack, Mickey, Ianto and the Doctor had had dinner at Gwen and Rhys' place. It had been a really fun evening. Rhys had been a little shocked that an actual alien was having dinner at his table, but when he had gotten to know the Doctor a bit better; the two men had got on brilliantly.

Bringing himself back to the present, the Doctor carefully got to his feet and walked around the crate. Behind him he heard Jack mutter a quiet protest; the Doctor ignored him. The others had no idea what creature they were dealing with, but the Doctor did.

The Doctor took the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and turned it on. It emitted a high pitched sound and began beeping louder when the Doctor pinpointed the exact location of the alien.

The alien was huddled into the corner of the warehouse like a frightened child. It was about the size of an adult human and its face was white and wrinkled and where its mouth should have been, there were tentacles.

It was an Ood.

Carefully and with his hands clearly visible the Doctor approached the terrified Ood.

"Don't be afraid… it's me… the Doctor. Remember? Doctor… friend…"

The Ood huddled further into the corner, making itself as small as possible.

Behind him the Doctor could hear the Torchwood team approaching. He continued in the same placid tone of voice: "Don't come any closer… he's only scared… he's away from his hive mind… he's alone…" and then he addressed the Ood again: "It's alright… the Doctor… friend…"

"DoctorDonna… friend…" the Ood said suddenly.

It had picked up the translator ball and it was glowing as the Ood spoke.

"That's right… DoctorDonna… friend…" the Doctor said with smile on his face and concern in his eyes.

"I can take you home…" he continued.

"Home…" the Ood said; there was a wistful tone in his voice.

The Doctor approached the Ood and gently helped the creature to his feet. The Ood once again took the translator ball in his hand.

"DoctorDonna, where is she?" it asked.

For a moment the Doctor fell silent. He could lie, but that was something that didn't entirely sit well with him.

"She's gone, the DoctorDonna no longer exists," the Doctor's tone was sad.

The Ood fell silent for a moment. "The DoctorDonna is dead?"

"No!" the Doctor insisted. "She's very much alive, it's just that… it's complicated, and sometimes even I don't understand it, or won't"

Both aliens fell silent again. Then the Doctor put on his happy face and said brightly: "Now… how about that trip home?"

"I would appreciate that." The Ood deadpanned and without further comment followed the Doctor out of the warehouse.

Team Torchwood hadn't made a single comment in the warehouse and not a word was uttered in the SUV back to the Hub. The four humans understood that the 'Ood' trusted the Doctor completely and just let the Doctor do what he did best; save people and aliens.

The Doctor brought the Ood into the TARDIS, and settled the creature on the jump seat.

"I'm going to say goodbye to my friends and then I'm taking you home, okay?"

The Ood reached for his translator ball. "Of course, Doctor."

The Doctor walked out of the TARDIS and was greeted by the members of Torchwood 3.

He shuffled a bit. "Well… I'm off. Have to take the Ood home…"

He shuffled a bit more. "Thanks for everything…" He said awkwardly.

Jack approached him and held up a hand, pointing at the man. "Doctor… don't you dare thank us. We helped you because you needed help; it's what friends do."

The Doctor nodded. "I'll stop by soon… promise."

The Doctor gave another nod and entered the TARDIS. Only Gwen and Ianto had to blink a few times when the ship disappeared; Jack and Mickey just took it in their stride.

Inside the ship the Doctor whirled around the console. A few hours ago he had dropped the Ood off, and the Ood had immediately made the Doctor and their fellow Ood join in on the Ood song. The creature had calmed even more then he already had been in the Doctor's presence; the song had only managed to give the Doctor a massive headache.

He stopped in his tracks when there was a ringing sound coming from the console. Strange; nothing on the console rang. Sometimes things flashed, others bleeped, and some things even jingled, but nothing rang.

Then he realised that it was Martha's phone. It was a sound he recognized; he just hadn't heard it in three years.

He picked it up; the screen said 'Mum'.

He answered, surprised. "Francine…?"

Francine gave a huge sigh of relief. "Doctor, I need your help. It's Martha."

*****

Martha hated every second of the drive back to London. She hadn't wanted to leave the Doctor behind, but Tom had been adamant.

"_Hello," Martha said. _

"_Martha? Are you still in Cardiff?" Tom asked. _

"_Yes."_

"_I want you to come home immediately."_

"_Tom, I can't just leave… the Doctor is still badly injured…"_

"_Martha," Tom said menacingly. "Come home now or I will not be responsible for the consequences."_

_Martha had known exactly what he meant._

"_I'll be home in about two - two and a half hours."_

"_You'd better be…" and Tom had hung up. _

Martha blinked several times, trying to dislodge the memory from her mind. She had lied to the Doctor about why she was leaving him. And she wasn't entirely sure if he'd seen through the lie. Lying wasn't something she did very well.

When she reached London she drove home on autopilot. It was a path she had driven so many times, and she would continue to do so for the rest of her life.

She parked her car next to Tom's, clearly he was home. Her mother's car was parked on the street.

Martha entered the house. She pulled off her coat and hung it up. Grabbing her bag again, she entered the living room. Her mother sprung to her feet as she laid eyes on her daughter.

"Martha… where were you?" Francine asked.

"I was in Cardiff…" Martha replied.

"In Cardiff...?!" Francine said incredulously.

"Yes, Jack called me. The Doctor had crashed the TARDIS and was badly injured. I went to help him."

"Oh my God… Is the Doctor alright?" Francine asked.

"No, but he will be."

"Then why did you leave Cardiff? If he's not alright, shouldn't you be there to take care of him?"

Martha sighed. "Mum…" Martha stopped dead as she saw Tom enter the room.

"Now, now Martha… Answer your mother." He said.

Martha nodded. "The Doctor no longer needs my help, and Jack is perfectly capable of providing the little that he _does_ need. Now if you will excuse me… I would like to take a shower and get some sleep. I've been up for a long time."

Martha left the room, not looking at her mother or Tom. While she was in the shower she heard the front door open and close; her mother had left. She was alone with Tom.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Tom was sitting on their bed. Martha looked at him warily.

"Did you need something?" she asked.

"Why did you go to Cardiff?" Tom asked.

"Because the Doctor needed my help..." Martha stated.

"Right…" Tom muttered as he stood up and began pacing the bedroom. "So… without my consent you left our home… didn't bother to even leave me a note of your whereabouts… and left to help an alien?"

"Tom, the Doctor is my friend…"

"Shut up! I am talking," Tom barked.

Martha fell silent.

"An alien... Martha! You are a very good doctor and you waste your talents on a thing that wasn't even born on our planet!"

"The Doctor is not…" Martha started to say, but her sentence was cut short as Tom's hand lashed out and hit her hard across the face.

Martha hit the bed and rolled off of it and onto the floor. Within seconds Tom was on her, grabbing by her hair, and hauled her to her feet, painfully, and then let go. He grabbed her arm. Martha had cut her hair, because it made it more difficult for Tom to hurt her. With her arm in a tight grip, Tom lashed out again.

"The Doctor is what…?" he hissed.

Protecting her head with her other arm, Martha whispered: "Nothing… The Doctor is nothing…"

Tom shoved her onto the floor. "Don't you ever forget that…! Now, get cleaned up…"

Tom left the room.

Martha remained on the floor for a few moments, catching her breath. It had been stupid of her to contradict him, and it had been stupid to mention the Doctor. She never should have done that. Mention of the Doctor set him off.

Martha didn't regret going to Cardiff to help the Doctor, she would have regretted it if she hadn't. The Doctor was a friend of hers, no matter how hard Tom tried to convince her otherwise. But the one thing she couldn't do was ask for his help. He wouldn't understand that she loved Tom, that Tom was all she had in her life. Martha was grateful for Tom, but the man was incredibly jealous of the Doctor, of the love Martha still felt for him. But Martha had let the Doctor down when she had left him, so now she could never see him again. She wouldn't be able to stand the disappointment in his eyes; that he clearly must feel for her, because of all the things she'd done wrong. She hadn't even been able to rid of the Osterhagen Key like he wanted…

And when they were travelling together he didn't look at her twice, so why would he start now?

Martha got to her feet and walked back to the bathroom and towards the sink. She looked in the mirror above it. Her lip was bleeding slightly and the bruise under her eye that had already been there had started bleeding. The bruise she could explain, the bleeding lip she could not. But her next shift at the hospital didn't start for another twelve hours, she would have thought of something by then.

Martha washed the blood away, put her pyjamas on and went to bed. Several minutes later Tom climbed into bed next to her. He spooned up behind her.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered. "I just don't like that you went to help the Doctor after everything that he put you through, with the Master and all… It seems unfair."

"I know…" Martha whispered back. "I love you…"

"I love you too…

"Now go to sleep."

_TO BE CONTNIUED_


	8. The truth about Doctor Milligan, part 1

Two weeks went by wherein Martha just did her work at the A&E. She'd explained her lip by saying that she'd crashed into a door; clumsy that she was. And people believed her.

She and Tom were having a quiet night at home, when the phone rang. Martha went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Doctor Jones," said the familiar voice of the Doctor.

"Doctor…!" Martha said warmly. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, thanks to your expert care. Jack took the cast of my arm earlier today and the cast on my leg will be removed later this week. And on another plus side, I can recognize myself in the mirror again!" The Doctor said cheerily.

"That's good to hear," Martha said. "So what did you do to keep yourself busy?"

"Oh, you know… this and that. Helping Torchwood a bit on alien research, I upgraded their computers, teased Jack about being in a steady relationship with Ianto…"

"Right, Doctor. That covers the first two hours after I left. What did you do the remainder of the time?"

On the other end of the line the Doctor burst out laughing. "You know me too well, Martha Jones."

"Yep, I do."

Behind her, Tom had gotten to his feet and was staring at her, the look in his eyes told her enough.

"I'm glad you're doing alright, Doctor. But I have got to go, there's someone at the door."

"No worries, Martha. When I'm completely fit I'll come and see you."

"Okay, bye Doctor."

Martha hung up and turned around to face Tom.

"You gave him our phone number?" He whispered, with anger underling his calm tone.

"I didn't, Tom," Martha raised her hands defensively. "I swear, Jack must have looked it up for him, or he did that himself. But I didn't give him our number."

Tom nodded. "Okay, I believe you… for now." He returned to the sofa and went back to watching TV.

Martha sighed inaudibly.

*****

Another week later, Martha was home alone; Tom was at work at the hospital. Her shift started tonight at eight. It was now two in the afternoon. She wanted to do those chores that had not been done for several weeks now; she put that nice picture on the wall, gave the bathroom a good shrub down and she fixed the broken window in the shed.

With a new light bulb in her hand, she descended the stairs of the basement. The light had been broken for several weeks, but since she nor Tom hardly ever came down here, neither of them bothered with fixing it. But it was best to replace it, before either broke their neck.

She grabbed a chair and placed it under the lamp and replaced the bulb. She jumped off the chair and walked to the light switch, and turned on the light. The normally bit creepy basement was instantly flooded in light, and became a lot less creepy.

In the harsh light she spotted a box. It was open and Martha could make out several DVDs. Strange place to keep DVDs! Martha pulled the box towards her and placed it onto the chair. Inside the box were stacks of DVDs, all neatly in their casings. On the discs was writing: 'Day 1, 12:00 PM – 1:00 AM'; the next one said: 'Day 1, 1:00 AM – 2:00 AM'. It went on and on; day 1, day 2 and day 3. The last disc had the words; 'Day 3, 2:00 AM – 3:00 AM'.

No, it couldn't be. The Doctor had told her that while he had been captured, he had been filmed.

It just couldn't be.

Martha dumped all the discs back in the box, shoved it back where she'd found it, ran up the stairs and closed the door behind her. Heavily, she leaned against it, breathing hard.

She couldn't believe what she'd just seen; but she had to know for sure. Carefully, she opened the door, and went down the stairs again. She grabbed the box and took it with her. She set it down and grabbed a random DVD and put it into the player. She turned on the TV and within seconds the Doctor's blood curling screams filled the living room. Martha clutched onto the remote. Tears started to form in her eyes.

She turned the DVD off, she had seen enough, and she knew enough. Sighing heavily she switched the TV off as well.

Realisation hit her: Tom was behind the Doctor's kidnap! But why...? He had never met the Doctor and Martha hardly ever mentioned him. Not anymore.

A few months before their wedding Martha had told Tom everything; about the Doctor, all the places she'd been and the things she'd seen, the end of the universe, and the Master. And he had taken it all in his stride, he had listened to her and when she had finished he'd just stated that he would appreciate it if that Martha would never mention the Doctor again.

Sometimes the Doctor's name did fall, but Martha wasn't the person who mentioned him, it was always her family. During the Year they'd become close and now shared a bond that even Martha sometimes didn't understand.

The first time that Tom had hit her was after a family dinner in which the Doctor was discussed greatly, Tish had accidentally called him, she had meant to call Martha, but had dialled Martha's old number instead. She and the Doctor had talked several minutes, just catching up. And Martha had been really excited about the fact that the Doctor was alright, much to Tom's chagrin. And at home that night he had lashed out without provocation. Later he apologized to her and just stated that he didn't like the Doctor for all he had put Martha through.

The two worst beatings that Martha had received were after the Sontarans and later the Daleks' invasions; Tom knew that the Doctor had saved to world on both occasions and was well aware about the fact that on both occasions it had been Martha who had called him for help. And he'd been furious about that. Martha only had been able to go to work, because she had 'proof' about her injuries; she had been able to explain them properly.

And all that time calling the Doctor and asking for his help wasn't something that crossed her mind. Tom had made sure of that. Martha had to prove to herself, to the Doctor and to the world that she was over the Doctor.

And the only way to do that was to obediently deal with what Tom was doing to her, because she knew that Tom loved her and he showed her frequently. As long as the Doctor was not mentioned or even hinted, Tom was as affectionate as a man could be. He was just very protective.

Martha was drawn out of her musings when Tom entered the room. Martha threw a quick glance at the clock; Tom was two hours early.

Tom stood rooted the spot in the middle of the living room. He stared at the box containing the DVD's, he stared at Martha.

His face turned red and the look in his eyes became angry.

Martha didn't stand a chance.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	9. A cry for help

It was 5:00 PM when Francine entered her daughter's home; she had a key and knew that neither Martha nor Tom minded. They were both busy people and sometimes Francine would go and do minor things like unpack the dishwasher and vacuum; little things that helped Tom and Martha.

Francine was so proud of her daughter; the Doctor. Martha had wanted to become a doctor ever since she'd been five years old, she'd been extremely single minded about it. And Francine's proudest day had been when her daughter had graduated.

Francine came in through the backdoor and put her bag on the kitchen table. She knew that Martha's shift didn't start until eight PM, so she should be home.

"Martha?" she called.

There was no sound coming from anywhere in the house.

"Martha, are you home?" she called again. Still nothing…

Francine took off her coat and put it across a chair and made her way to the living room. For a moment Francine stopped breathing as she spotted her little girl.

Martha was sitting on the sofa, with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her head was resting on her knees and her arms were covering it. The only thing that Francine could make out was Martha's black hair.

The most shocking fact was that Martha was visibly shaking and her clothes were torn in several places.

In an instant Francine was with her daughter. Protectively, she put an arm around the shaking form.

"Martha…? What's wrong…? Tell me… please…" Francine whispered.

Martha didn't respond.

Francine tried again. "Martha, baby. Please look at me…"

Still, Martha didn't respond.

Francine carefully pulled Martha's arms away from her head. Martha didn't struggle, she just allowed it. Francine placed her hand on her daughter's cheek and gently angled her head, so she could look Martha in the eye.

Francine gasped. Martha's right eye was black and completely closed. Her upper lip was swollen and bleeding.

"Martha…? What happened to you…?" Francine whispered, touching her daughter's face ever so gently.

Martha flinched out of her mother's grip. Silent tears were running down her face.

Francine let her daughter go and grabbed the phone that was on the coffee table. "I'm calling Tom; he needs to check you over."

Martha let out a small scream and shuffled back into the corner of the sofa.

"You don't want me to call Tom? Why?"

Martha let out another whimper, but otherwise remained silent.

Francine put the phone back on the table and sat back. "Martha… did Tom do this?" Francine whispered.

Martha shuffled even further into the corner of the sofa and started to cry in earnest.

Francine took her daughter in her arms and held her; the way only a mother can.

"Mummy…" Martha whispered.

"Yes baby," Francine whispered.

"Help me…"

"Of course, sweetheart."

Francine held on to her daughter for a little while longer, thinking fast. Who could she call; her baby needed a doctor, but Tom was out of the question. She didn't know any more doctors. Doctors… doctors… of course; The Doctor!

For the second time Francine grabbed the phone from the table. She dialled the number that was no longer her daughter's, but was still an important number.

After what seemed an eternity the phone was answered.

The surprised voice of the Doctor answered: "Francine…?"

Francine sighed; thank God he answered. "Doctor, I need your help. It's Martha."

*****

Only five seconds after Francine had hung up, the TARDIS materialized on the street in front of the house. It had only been solid for a few seconds when the Doctor came running out. Francine ran to the front door and opened it.

The Doctor saw immediately, just from the look in Francine's eyes that something was horribly wrong with Martha.

"Living room," was all Francine said.

The Doctor pushed past her and entered the living room. His best friend was sitting on the sofa like a frightened animal. When Martha noticed the Doctor a new flood of tears formed in her eyes and she looked away.

Carefully, the Doctor sat down next to her.

"Martha? It's alright… I'm here."

Martha didn't look at him and she only shuffled more and more away from him.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered.

"What for…?" the Doctor asked bemused. "You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"You shouldn't have come…" Martha continued to whisper.

"You're my friend, of course I should be here…" the Doctor insisted.

Martha mustered up the courage to look at him. In his eyes she saw a lot, but the one thing she didn't see was disappointment. She saw concern, horror and anger.

"Are you angry with me…?" Martha whispered.

"Angry…?" the Doctor asked. "Rassilon, Martha, why would I possibly be angry with you?"

Martha shrugged.

"Martha, I could never be angry with you. What makes you think that?"

Martha shrugged a second time.

"Martha…" the Doctor started. "… Who did this to you?"

Once again, tears formed in Martha's eyes, she whispered something.

The Doctor leaned over. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you…"

"Tom…" Martha whispered a second time.

The Doctor almost didn't hear her for the second time; almost. The look in his eyes turned hard for the briefest of seconds, but for Martha's sake he pushed the feelings aside.

"Why…?" he whispered.

Slowly, Martha got to her feet and made her way to the basement door.

Unable to speak louder, she whispered: "Down there… there's a cardboard box… it has a bunch of DVDs in it."

Martha turned away and walked up the stairs. A few seconds later, a door was closed.

"Let her be… just for a moment…" Francine said.

The Doctor nodded, opened the door to the basement and went down the rickety stairs. He didn't bother turning on the lights, he could see enough. He found the box and took it with him back upstairs.

"What's in it?" Francine asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "DVDs according to Martha."

He made his way back to the living room. Turning the TV and DVD-player on, he popped one of the discs in. In seconds, Francine and the Doctor turned pale when the Doctor's screams of pain echoed through the small room. Francine grabbed the remote from the Doctor's hand and muted the volume off.

With her hand in front of her mouth she placed the remote on the table.

"What the hell is that?" she gasped.

The Doctor stopped the current DVD and placed another one in the player. With a stony face he watched that one as well. Then he placed another in the player; and another and another.

"It was Tom… it must be..." the Doctor breathed. "Tom was behind my kidnap and torture… and Martha found the DVDs that were made and paid the price for it."

"I think that Martha's been paying the price a lot longer…" Francine realised.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.

"Sometimes… she would have bruises. She could always explain them: 'I bumped into a door, I fell down, a patient had a seizure…' Why didn't I spot this? A good mother would notice this!"

"Three weeks ago…" the Doctor muttered. "… When she came to Cardiff to help me, Martha had a bruise under her eye. I asked her about it, even Jack asked, and she lied to us. Why, Martha? Why? We would have dropped everything and we would have helped you."

"How long has this been going on… how long had Tom been abusing her?" Francine mused.

"I don't know, and I don't think that Martha's going to answer that question any time soon."

"But why didn't I see it?" Francine asked in general, not specifically at the Doctor.

"Most of the time, we see what we want to see. You assumed that Martha and Tom had a good marriage and were perfectly happy. It happens all the time and you're not the first mother who didn't spot abuse and you're not going to be the last." The Doctor answered.

Francine and the Doctor just sat on the sofa together for a while; just thinking.

Then the front door opened and closed.

Tom was home.

He entered the living room and saw the Doctor.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	10. Martha's bodyguards

The Doctor stood up and placed himself between Tom and Francine, shielding the woman from Tom's view.

"Tom…" the Doctor coldly stated.

"Doctor! How are you now? Martha told me what happened. It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Tom said with a warm and concerned smile.

"Oh, we've met in between Martha mentioning me and now...several times…over a period of three days…" The Doctor took one look at the cardboard box and looked Tom in the eye again.

Realisation dawned on Tom. The look in his eyes became hard and cold.

"I see..." the man said.

"Well, I don't…" the Doctor said hard. "I don't see it; I don't see the reason why you kidnapped me, why you tortured me…why you're abusing Martha…"

The last statement hung in the air between them.

Because that was the sole reason for the Doctor to be mad at Tom: he was hurting Martha. Oh, you could hurt the Doctor, sure, but you don't hurt his friends. Because then the Oncoming Storm will show you why that is a bad idea.

The Doctor said nothing more and simply stared at Tom; and he didn't only stare, the Doctor _stared _at him.

Many aliens and humans had quivered under that stare, sometimes even Daleks backed away.

It was exactly what Tom did. Slowly Tom backed away from the Doctor. Tom knew that a fit Doctor was no match for him. Suddenly Tom turned on his heel and ran from the house.

He did however yell, "You will pay for letting that _thing_ into our house, Martha! Mark my words...you will pay for it..."

The Doctor made no effort whatsoever to follow him.

"But Doctor? Shouldn't we go after him? He hurt my daughter!" Francine said angrily.

"Don't worry Francine. I'll get him… Martha is more important right now. We should go check on her, but first...."

The Doctor grabbed the phone from the coffee table and dialled a number. It had only rung a few times when a Welsh tone was heard.

"Hello?" Ianto said.

"Ianto…! It's the Doctor, is Jack there? It's an emergency."

"No, he's dealing with something important."

"Could you have him call me back? I'm at Martha's."

"Of course, Doctor. No problem."

"Brilliant…Bye."

Ianto didn't even have time to say goodbye, because the Doctor had already hung up and had thrown the phone back on the table.

Briskly the Doctor walked out the room and took the stairs three at a time. Francine was right behind him and overtook him when they reached the landing and immediately knocked on the door to Martha's bedroom.

There was no answer.

Francine opened the door and peered inside. The Doctor couldn't see into the room, but knew that something wasn't right when Francine threw the door open further.

Martha was sitting in a comfortable chair staring straight ahead into nothing.

"Martha?" Francine hurried over to her daughter.

Martha didn't blink and didn't acknowledge her.

The Doctor joined Francine and stared Martha in the eye. He waved in front of her eyes and in the end he even resorted to snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"What's wrong with her?" Francine whispered behind him.

"She must have heard Tom come home… and heard his threat…she broke…" The Doctor whispered. "Even a strong person like Martha has a breaking point."

Behind him, Francine started to cry and fled from the room. The Doctor could hear her running down the stairs and heard the front door slam.

Gently, the Doctor picked Martha up and laid her on the bed and tucked her in. He saw that the phone on the nightstand was with a cord, so he ran downstairs to retrieve the cordless phone. He sat down in the chair that was until a moment ago occupied by Martha and watched the woman.

His hearts bled for her. She didn't deserve this, not his Martha. But why hadn't she called him? She would have to have known that he would come immediately. It didn't make sense…maybe Tom had convinced her somehow that he wouldn't come… That maybe the Doctor thought that she wasn't worth it… That she didn't deserve his help…

Only Martha would be able to answer that question.

The Doctor was pulled out of his musing when the phone rang.

He answered. "Jack…?"

"What's up, Doc? Ianto said it's an emergency…" Jack said.

The Doctor didn't answer his question. "Type this in your vortex manipulator: oscillating three, two, nine, five… That only reactivates the teleport. I need you in London, right now."

"Wow – wow, Doctor… slow down."

"No Jack, I will not slow down. You need to come to London right now and the only way to get you here fast is through your teleport."

"Doctor, why do you need me in London?" Jack asked, but in his voice there was a hint of fear underlining the cheerful tone.

"Jack… It's Martha."

"On my way…"

And Jack hung up.

*****

The Doctor made his way to Martha's bathroom and retrieved the first aid kit. From a cabinet over the sink he grabbed a towel and held it briefly under cold running water.

When he returned to the bedroom only a few moments later, he noticed that Martha hadn't moved a single muscle. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm just going to wash a little of the blood away, Martha; nothing to worry about."

As the Doctor did just that, he continued talking to her. "There we go… all clean… now I'm just going to put some anti-septic on that nasty cut on your lip… and some on that cut just above your eye… I hope that I'm not hurting you… will you let me know if I am...? Please Martha, will you let me know? I would really like to hear your voice again…"

The Doctor heard a noise in the backyard and then the back door opened and closed.

"Oh, we have a visitor… I'm just going to go downstairs and see who that is… and when I get back, you and I are going to fix you right up… and then I'm taking you out to dinner… just like I promised… I'll be right back…"

With the damp towel clutched in his hand, the Doctor left the bedroom and made his way downstairs. There he was greeted by Jack… and the rest of Torchwood 3, only minus Mickey.

"What are you all doing here? I only asked for Jack," the Doctor said a bit bemused and overwhelmed.

"Doctor… Martha is a friend of all three of us," Jack said. "So, what's wrong?"

"Erm… Sit down and I'll explain." The Doctor waited until Jack and Ianto had sat down on the sofa; Gwen had sat down on a chair, and he let himself drop into another chair. He gave a huge sigh. "About two hours ago, I got a call from Francine that something was wrong with Martha. Of course I came immediately." The Doctor sighed again. "For a long time…Tom has been abusing Martha…"

Gwen gasped and put her hand over her mouth in shock; Ianto jerked forward, but otherwise remained silent and Jack remained silent as well, only an intense feeling of hatred showed through his calm exterior.

"Where is he now?" Jack asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't know and I don't really care to be completely honest," the Doctor answered. "My main concern is Martha...which is why I called you. I want you guys to go and find Tom, while I stay here to take care of Martha."

"Say no more, Doctor," Jack replied. "Okay, where could the man go...the hospital... it's got to... The man will probably just go to work, save lives, while his wife... Doctor, do I have your permission to shoot him?"

"No!" the Doctor exclaimed. "When you find him, bring him to the TARDIS, but I want your word that he will be in one piece, Jack."

Reluctantly Jack agreed.

*****

The Doctor walked into Martha's bedroom and closed the door behind him. He knew that he wouldn't be disturbed, Gwen, who was staying behind, was going to make sure of that. Jack had briefly visited Martha before he and Ianto had left. Martha was still catatonic and had not acknowledged the immortal man. A bit heartbroken, but confident that the Doctor would be able to help her, Jack had left the Doctor and Martha alone.

Gwen was going to stay behind and make sure that the Doctor wouldn't be disturbed. She had been shocked to learn of Martha's abuse. From her days on the police force, she had often come across domestic abuse and had always had trouble dealing with it. For Tom's safety Jack had ordered her to protect the Doctor and Martha, Gwen would have assaulted him. And the only reason that Ianto was going with Jack was because the young Welshman was probably, aside from the Doctor, who was able to calm Jack.

The Doctor was planning to make telepathic contact with the young doctor; unfortunately both would have no clue of what was going on around them. An interruption could prove to be very dangerous for both the Doctor and Martha, so Gwen would act as their bodyguard, armed with a gun that was modified with alien technology.

The Doctor approached Martha carefully. He'd been downstairs for only ten minutes, and Martha still had not moved. He hated the fact that he would have to do this. Martha deserved so much more than him invading her mind. He was worried that what he was about to do would only confirm Tom's theories about him; but if he wanted to save Martha, he had no choice.

Martha was lying on her side and carefully the Doctor turned her on her back, and straightened her legs, so she would be more comfortable. He flexed his fingers and with a slight hesitation placed them on her temples, and closed his eyes. He focused his mind on hers.

There was a brief white flash, and his new surroundings became clear.

He was standing underneath a burnt orange sky, in front of him were long slopes with deep red grass, and beyond them mountains stretched out forever.

He was on Gallifrey.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	11. An angry immortal man

Walking out of Martha's bedroom, leaving the young, catatonic woman behind, Jack was royally pissed off. Tom was hurting his Nightingale; nobody hurt his Nightingale and got away with it. Without a word he walked into the kitchen, grabbed Martha's car keys and walked out of the small house, Ianto was right behind him, Jack was only just aware of him.

Gwen already knew what she was supposed to do.

"Jack, slow down," Ianto said.

Jack didn't stop walking; he simply strode up to the car, unlocked it, got in and gave Ianto only a few seconds to get in before tearing off down the street.

"Jack... Slow down," Ianto insisted again.

"No Ianto, I will not slow down. I want to go and find the bastard. And I know that I made a promise to the Doctor that I would hand him over in one piece, but I really want to hurt him a lot before I do that. So the only reason I'm letting you come with me, is for the fact that I want you to stop me before I go too far and I do something that I'm going to regret every time I look into Martha's eyes."

Ianto stared at Jack for a second in shock after that outburst. Jack gave a great sigh and visibly relaxed a bit.

"Sorry," Jack muttered. "Just had to get that out of my system…"

Ianto nodded. "Quite alright."

After a short while Ianto asked: "Where are we going?"

"The Royal Hope; good a place as any to start."

Ianto nodded again. There was no reason to say anything.

After a twenty minute drive, the two men arrived at the Royal Hope Hospital.

"He works at A&E, doesn't he?" Ianto asked Jack.

"No, that's Martha. Tom works at the paediatrics ward."

Jack and Ianto checked the board to which floor they had to go and stepped into a waiting lift. Safe for them, the lift was empty.

"So... what are we going to do, once we find him?" Ianto asked.

"I don't know... haven't figured that part out yet," Jack answered.

There was a ping and the doors slid open. They stepped out into a brightly coloured corridor. All the walls were painted in bright colours; red, yellow, blue, pink; a multi coloured world as far as the eye could see. Yep, this was the paediatrics ward alright.

Jack stopped at a nurses' station and flashed one of his patented dazzling smiles. The young nurse at the opposite side never stood a chance.

"Hi," Jack said. "I'm looking for Doctor Tom Milligan."

The nurse smiled back. "I haven't seen him yet." She turned to her colleagues. "Guys, any of you seen Doctor Tom?"

There were several 'no's', but one nurse said: "Yeah, I saw him just before I got in to start my shift. He was in the lift, on his way to the basement."

Jack nodded. "Thank you, ladies."

Jack made his way back towards the lift; behind him Ianto voiced the exact thing that Jack was thinking. "What's he doing in the basement?"

*****

The Doctor glanced around him.

He was on Gallifrey? How could he possibly be on Gallifrey? That wasn't possible. He calmed himself down and looked around him properly. He noticed that, though the sky was indeed a burnt orange, it didn't have the deep glow it usually had had. The trees did have silver leaves, but there was no song coming from them. The long slopes of deep red grass weren't capped with snow.

He remembered telling Martha in great detail what Gallifrey had looked like, and he found it a bit humbling to discover that she had chosen to hide in his home. To him it proved that a little part of her still trusted him.

The Doctor spotted a small figure sitting underneath a tree, it was Martha. He made his way over to her and sat down next to her. He noticed that Martha looked exactly the same as he was used to. She had no cut on her upper lip and no cut just over her eye, and she was dressed in her favourite red leather jacket and a simple jeans and top.

"Hello!" Martha said happily.

"Hello!" The Doctor replied.

"What brings you here?" Martha asked with a bright smile.

"You...actually…" the Doctor said.

"Me...?" Martha asked, bemused.

"Yes...you."

"Why…?"

"Well... because of Tom," the Doctor said a little hesitantly.

Out of nowhere the sky turned darker and a breeze picked up. The Doctor glanced at the sky; it had turned into a shade that was closer to the shade that he remembered.

"I'm sorry, I won't bring him up again," the Doctor said.

"I like it here," Martha said, "It's so pretty; can I stay here?"

"For a while...Because I think that if you stayed to long your family will miss you very much."

"Oh...they won't miss me," Martha exclaimed.

"What makes you say that? Of course they will miss you."

"They won't," Martha stated as if it was obvious.

The Doctor let that subject slide for a moment. "So...what are you doing here?" He asked instead.

It came as a complete surprise that Martha giggled. "That's a secret," she whispered.

"Oh, well I like secrets... Will you let me in on your secret; I'm very good at keeping secrets?"

Martha shook her head like a little girl would. "No... Because that would be telling and my mummy doesn't like it if I tell stuff that I'm not supposed to tell."

The Doctor nodded. "Well...I know your mum. I'm sure she doesn't mind if you tell me."

Martha looked at him in bewilderment. "Really…?"

"Really…"

Martha looked around her, just to check that nobody was listening in. "You promise that you won't tell anybody else?"

"I promise. Scouts' honour..." The Doctor put his hand in the air, sticking out two fingers.

Martha leaned over to him and whispered in his ear: "I'm hiding." And she leaned back again.

"Who or what are you hiding from?" the Doctor whispered back.

Martha shuffled back to her original position, and remained silent.

"Who, Martha?" the Doctor asked.

"A bad man…" Martha whispered.

"Do you know this bad man?" the Doctor asked.

Martha nodded.

"How do you know him?" the Doctor asked.

Martha shrugged.

"Martha…" the Doctor asked, "may I ask you a different question?"

Martha nodded again; it was all she seemed to do.

"How old are you?"

Martha gave a proud smile. "Eight!" she said cheerily.

*****

Jack and Ianto stepped out of the lift and emerged in a bleak, grey corridor.

"Charming…" Ianto muttered under his breath.

Jack said nothing and eyed the corridor grimly.

Slowly, the two men made their way through the corridor. Something beeped on Jack's wrist computer. Jack looked at it and stabbed at a few of the small buttons. Without a word he grabbed his weapon, behind him Ianto did the same.

"Remember Jack… in one piece," Ianto warned.

Jack only gave a grunt as reply.

The two men made their way even further down the corridor. Jack glanced occasionally at his wrist computer.

"He's still in the same spot, he hasn't moved," Jack whispered.

"How do you know?" Ianto asked.

"Because we know that he's down here, and, besides ours, his life sign is the only one I'm picking up."

"Well, yeah… But how do you know that it's Tom?" Ianto wondered.

Jack remained silent and glanced at a specific door. For a brief moment he held his gun with only one hand and pointed at the door. Ianto nodded and positioned himself with his back against the wall. He lowered his gun, so that it pointed to the floor. He placed one hand on the doorknob, looked at Jack and waited.

Jack started to nod. One… two… three…

On three, Ianto turned the doorknob and Jack rushed through. It really is amazing how willing you are to risk your life, when you know that you can't die.

Ianto followed Jack into the room and cannoned straight into Jack's back, because Jack had stopped dead.

Ianto glanced around Jack.

The room they were in was almost completely empty. In the corner stood a wooden chair, on a tripod still stood a camera, and if you looked closely, you could still make out a big square imprint in the dust on the floor.

But it was the fact that Tom was sitting very calmly in the chair that had made Jack stop dead.

"Hello, Jack…" Tom said. "What kept you?"

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	12. Martha's pain

"You are eight years old?" the Doctor asked Martha.

"Yes!" Martha said with a bright smile. "And when I'm all grown up, I want to be a doctor."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Really…you want to be a doctor?"

Martha was still smiling brightly as she nodded again.

"Well…" the Doctor started, "if you work really hard, then I'm positive you will become a doctor, Martha Jones; an absolutely brilliant doctor."

"What are you talking about, Doctor? I already am a doctor!" Martha said.

The Doctor blinked a few times and looked at her, startled by the sudden change.

"Hello, Martha," he said.

"Hello, Doctor," Martha replied.

The Doctor looked away from her and gazed up at the sky.

"Thank you…" he muttered.

"For what…? Martha asked, a bit bemused.

"For seeking refuge here. I'm honoured…"

Martha pulled her knees to her chest and slung her arms around them. Her face was a bit flushed, but not in embarrassment; in anger.

"What makes you think that I'm 'seeking refuge' here?"

"I don't know…you tell me."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Martha yelled.

"I'm the Doctor," he answered with a bright smile.

"I said; who the hell do you think you are?" Martha continued to yell. "You come in here…in my head…and you've got the nerve to become…become…"

"To become…what?" the Doctor asked, intrigued to discover what he had become.

"…cheeky…!"Martha yelled and she stood up and stalked away.

The Doctor stood up as well and simply looked at her.

"Martha, the only reason why I entered your mind is because I'm worried about you. You're my friend and Tom is hurting you. I want to help."

Around them the wind picked up again and the sky became darker.

"You want to help me? " Martha asked, incredulously. "Since when?"

The Doctor gaped at her. "Since always… I'll always help you."

Martha snorted. The wind whirled around faster. The Doctor's suit jacket billowed slightly in the wind, and his hair became even more ruffled than usual.

"Oh…you will always help me?" Martha screamed at him.

"Yes!" the Doctor screamed back, in spite of himself.

The wind continued to pick up even more and now was really pulling at the Doctor's clothes and his hair was now truly a mess.

"Then where were you when I needed you? Where were _you_ in 1913?" Martha screamed.

The wind was now seriously pulling at the Doctor, almost to a point where it became difficult for him to remain standing still.

"Where were _you_ when I got abducted on New Earth?" Martha continued to blast accusations at him. "Where were _you_ when I killed the pig slaves in 1930? Where were _you_ onboard the Pentalion when I was stuck in that escape pod? Where were _you_ during The Year? Where were _you_ all those times when I needed you the most?"

Tears of anger were cascading down Martha's cheeks. The Doctor looked at her and knew she was right. At the points where she needed him, he wasn't there to help her. He always relied on her, relied on her strength.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered.

The wind howled in his ears, and in the distance lighting flashed. There was no way that Martha could hear his soft apology, and she hadn't because the wind didn't let up but instead, continued to pound into him. And he let it happen. The weather was all of Martha's anger on display. And if he was the subject of her anger, if this was her way of retaliating, then that was fine by him.

"I fell in love with you!" Martha screamed at him. "I was stupid enough to fall in love with a man who was so hung up on some blonde that he could never see again, that he didn't notice me."

"Why didn't you notice me?" she screamed at him.

"I noticed you…" the Doctor said, but Martha didn't hear him over the howling wind, that had no affect on her whatsoever.

"Was I not blonde enough? Was I not white enough?" Martha screeched. "I could never measure up to Rose! Remember? 'Rose would know', you said. Every step of the way you compared me to her. Always her presence hovered around us, like a ghost. What about me was it that repulsed you so much? Well…come on, what was it?"

"It was all me, not you, Martha," The Doctor whispered, still unheard by Martha.

"Was I not good enough?" Martha's voice had gone down to a whisper. "Did I disappoint you in some way? I wasn't able to get rid of the Osterhagen Key…are you disappointed because of that? …Or because I was captured by the Sontarans? Please, Doctor, I have to know."

Martha finally broke down, her knees buckled underneath her and she collapsed on the red grass. Almost instantaneously the wind died down and the lightning in the distance stopped.

The Doctor made his way over to her; in her tirade she had walked away several metres, and pulled her into a hug.

Martha cried.

*****

Gwen Cooper looked up when she heard a car stopping outside. With her hand on her gun, just in case, she made her way to the front door.

Four people came out of a blue car; two men and two women. She didn't know who they were. The four people came up to the house, and the older of the two men pulled a key from his pocket.

Gwen backed away from the door and not a moment too soon. The door flew open.

"Where is he?" the oldest man yelled. "And who are you and what are you doing in my daughter's house?"

Realisation dawned on Gwen, and she removed her hand from her weapon. "Sir…my name is Gwen Cooper. I work for Torchwood…along with Jack?"

The man relaxed. "I'm Clive Jones, Martha's father. That is my ex-wife Francine, Martha's mother and my other children, Leo and Tish."

"Nice to meet you…" Gwen said.

"Where is he?" Clive demanded for a second time, and on Gwen's blank look, he added, "Tom, where is he?"

"I don't know, Mr. Jones. Jack and Ianto have left to go and find him," Gwen answered.

"Where's Martha?" Francine asked.

"Still upstairs with the Doctor…"

All four of them made their way to the stairs, but Gwen quickly stepped into the path. "No, you can't interrupt the Doctor."

"Why not?" Clive asked.

"The Doctor has made a telepathic link with Martha. She was completely catatonic and the Doctor felt this was the only way to help her. If that link is interrupted, it can prove to be very dangerous for both the Doctor and Martha."

"How…" Leo asked concerned.

"I don't know." Gwen asked truthfully. "All I know is what the Doctor told me, which is; no interruptions."

"But why are you here?" Leo asked.

"I'm here to prevent Tom Milligan from ever setting foot in this house ever again," Gwen stated. And there was no doubt in the Jones' Family's mind that Tom would indeed ever do that again.

"I'm going to see my sister," Tish said and pushed her way through.

Gwen placed a hand on Tish's arm. "You can't go up there."

"The hell I can, my sister needs me."

"Yes, she does need you, but right now she needs the Doctor more. No one goes up there." Gwen's tone of voice made it perfectly clear that she was a woman not to be trifled with. "The Doctor was very clear: NO INTERRUPTIONS!" Gwen added for good measure.

"So, what do we do now?" Tish said, sounding defeated.

"Now we wait," Gwen said. "We wait for Jack and Ianto to return with Tom, and we wait for the Doctor and Martha to return from their…whatever it is that they're doing."

The five people stood awkwardly in the hallway for a few moments when Francine asked a typical British question.

"Tea, anyone…?"

*****

Jack pointed the gun squarely at Tom's head.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your brains out, right now," Jack said through gritted teeth.

Tom gave him a smile. "Because then you will never know why."

He got up from the chair and started walking up and down the small room, and with his right hand gave the chains that still hung from the ceiling a push, so that they swung to and fro.

"You know…the _thing_ hung from these chains for three days and_ it_ didn't even start screaming after two. It really was amazing. "

Jack took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Yeah…" Tom continued, "It wasn't until we got out a battery pack, that _it_ started screaming. Good thing that we're so deep down in the basement, after a while it started to get embarrassing."

"Why…?" That was all Jack managed to ask him.

"_That_ I will only tell _it_, not you," Tom said with a smirk on his face, that Jack instantly wanted to punch from his face.

Behind Jack, Ianto was watching Jack closely, and he would step in the second it would start to go wrong. Of course, Ianto was only human, so he may not be fast enough to stop Jack from at least punching the man once. He might even do that himself.

"What makes you think that the Doctor is even going to be willing to talk to you?" Jack asked him.

"Because _it_ is just as curious to the 'why' as you are, Jackie-boy," Tom sneered.

"Stop calling the Doctor 'it'! Jack ordered, raising the gun a little more pointedly at Tom's head.

"I think I will not," Tom said. "It's more than **_it_** deserves."

Jack stormed across the small room, grabbed Tom and shoved him up against the wall and put the barrel of the gun against the man's temple.

"I said; stop calling the Doctor 'it'," Jack whispered. "You should be glad that Ianto is here, otherwise you'd be dead by now."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Tom leered. "Because…call me not impressed!"

Out of nowhere Jack had enough of the man and with one quick motion used the handle of his gun to knock Tom out cold.

The man crumpled to the ground in a heap and remained there.

For good measure, and to make himself feel just a teeny bit better, Jack kicked the unconscious man viciously in the ribs.

He crouched down and shoved two fingers in the man's neck. "Pulse is strong…he should be fine."

He turned around and found that Ianto had vanished. "Ianto?"

"In here…" Ianto's voice came, slightly muffled.

Jack left the small room and glanced around.

"I'm in the room on the right," Ianto said.

Jack entered the other room. It was crammed full with boxes, with what seemed to be very old patient files. Ianto was crouched down on the floor. He had opened one of the boxes and was riffling through papers.

"What you got?" Jack asked.

"I'm not sure…" Ianto said. "Look at these…"

Ianto handed a few papers to Jack.

"Are these…?" Jack said, not quite believing what he was seeing.

"Yep, photos of the Doctor being tortured."

Ianto showed him what was written on the box: **IT**.

"Bring it…" Jack ordered.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	13. A Doctor's conference

The Doctor continued to hold on to Martha as she cried. The poor woman was actually shaking with all the pain that she was letting out. After what seemed an eternity Martha calmed down, but the Doctor continued to hold her, rocking back and forth; grateful for the fact that she was finally letting him help her.

"Martha…?" he tentatively asked.

"Mm..." was the only response he got.

"Feeling better…?"

Through the embrace he felt her nod.

Martha carefully extricated herself out of the embrace. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, but gratitude shone in them.

"I'm sorry…"Martha whispered as she reached up and tried to smooth his hair down; which made it even more unruly.

"What for…?" the Doctor asked as he reached up and pulled her hands down and held them firmly in his own.

"For everything…"

"Don't start that again, please. You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"Where are we…?"Martha asked.

"Well, we're inside your head," the Doctor replied. "And you've chosen to hide on Gallifrey."

Martha glanced around. "We're inside my _head_?"

The Doctor nodded gleefully. "Yep," he said, popping the 'p'. "And…you almost got how it looked like right."

"So…this isn't what it truly really looked like?" Martha asked him.

"No…" the Doctor sounded sad.

"Can you show me what your home really looked like?" Martha asked a bit worried, she wondered what his reaction was going to be.

For a moment the Doctor stood there, just looking up at the sky. "Take my hand…" he whispered, and held it out.

Martha reached out and entwined their fingers. She gasped; in front of her the deep red slopes of grass were suddenly capped with snow; the burnt orange sky became brighter and had a shine to it. Between two mountains a citadel encased in a glass dome appeared.

Tears sprung to Martha's eyes as she took it all in; at least she tried. "I'm sorry for yelling all that stuff."

"Don't be, Martha," the Doctor whispered. "Because you were right."

Martha started to shake her head in protest, but the Doctor put the index finger of his free hand on her lips. "Please let me finish?"

Martha nodded and squeezed the fingers of the hand she was already holding.

"I want you to know that I did notice you, Martha…" he started. "It may have seemed to you that I didn't, but I did. And I knew what you felt for me, because for a split second when we kissed at the hospital, I felt it too. But I left you at the hospital, I went back to the TARDIS and started wandering around the corridors and I ended up in Rose's old room."

Martha gasped a little as he uttered her name.

"Rassilon, did I miss her then. But the TARDIS convinced me to go and seek you out. You deserved a proper thank you, according to her. And I can't say that I disagreed. You are so different from Rose. Travelling with her was like a rollercoaster ride. We went from planet to planet and from timeframe to timeframe; never stopping, always running; and she never asked personal questions. But you did; only on your second trip I told you things about Gallifrey and the war that I never told Rose in the two years that we travelled together."

The Doctor stopped for a second, gasping for breath. He formulated what he wanted to say next in his head; it was so important that he got the next bit out right.

"I'm sorry Martha, for letting you think that I didn't notice you. But I kept my distance, because within moments you noticed _me_. You saw me, for what I really am, and what I really think, and what I really feel. And it scared me. _You_ scare me, because I can't fool you. And the reason why you sometimes felt that I let you down was because you are so totally brilliant in keeping yourself safe, that you didn't need me for that. I only helped when you needed me to. Remember the Pentalion? You didn't need saving until you and Riley were stuck in that escape pod and then I gladly risked my own life to save yours. If…if I had to give up one of my regenerations for you, I would do that in a hearts beat, because you are worth that. Please believe me?"

The Doctor looked at Martha pleadingly, hoping with all of his hearts that she believed him.

Martha let go of his hand and pulled him into a hug. Both were shaking with emotions.

"I believe you," Martha whispered.

The Doctor held her even tighter, even if that was hardly possible.

"Why..? Why, Martha," the Doctor whispered.

Martha shrugged; it was a little shrug, because she was still being held by the Doctor.

"Please, Martha. Now is not the time to be secretive," the Doctor said.

Martha pulled out of the embrace, and looked the Doctor in the eye. She sighed.

"When we travelled…" she started. "It was the most fantastic time of my life, and I always felt as if I was living in Rose's shadow; as if sometimes I wasn't good enough, like I didn't measure up."

The Doctor made to say something, but Martha silenced him. "Please, Doctor… I heard you out, now do the same for me. "

The Doctor nodded.

"After we said goodbye, I met Tom again, and he made me feel so alive. He made me feel like I was worth something. I didn't feel that with you, and Tom made me feel so different. But he was so jealous of you."

Martha let go of the Doctor's hand, which she only now noticed that she was still clutching, and started pacing to and fro in front of him, waving her hands for emphasis.

"The first time he hit me was after a dinner with my family, one of the subjects had been you. He apologized immediately, but it soon became worse. Soon he hit me a lot. Especially after events that involved you. You know; Titanic, those fat thingies, the Sontarans, the Daleks. "

Martha looked at the Doctor and she saw that he understood. "He was so mad after I got back from Messaline. I tried explaining it to him… That it was an accident… That you didn't mean to do take me with you… But he wouldn't listen. I think that's when he started truly to plan. And I was scared…of him. I was scared of what he would do, when he would see you. That's why I didn't invite you to the wedding. I was trying to keep you safe." Then a thought hit her. "How did he capture you?"

"I'll tell you later, I have to show you something for that first."

A tense silence fell.

"Why didn't you call me, Martha?" the Doctor asked. "It's the only thing that I can't figure out. Why didn't you call me? I would've come immediately and helped you." The Doctor had walked back to Martha and had taken her hand in his. With his eyes he implored her to answer.

Martha cast down her eyes. "Because…" She stopped.

"Please tell me, Martha." The Doctor urged her.

"Because I was afraid that I would once again disappoint you," Martha whispered.

"Disappoint me? Martha, that's not possible."

"Of course it is. I wasn't strong enough to get rid of the Osterhagen Key! I wasn't strong enough to keep the Sontarans to clone me! I got myself shot in the Wild West, subsequently getting you almost killed! I wasn't strong enough in anything!"

"Martha Jones, you stop right there! If it wasn't for you I would have died on the moon. If it wasn't for you I would have died in 1599. Who kept me safe in 1913, and who kept me _sane_ in 1969? You! Only you! And I won't even start about what you did when you walked the Earth. Only a strong person like you would have survived that."

Martha looked into his eyes and saw no disappointment; only pride. "Really…?" she whispered.

"Really, really," the Doctor whispered back.

"I was being a bit thick, I think." Martha said.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." The Doctor said.

"Oh, really? What would you say then?" Martha asked with a smile.

"You were being hurt, so you weren't thinking straight." He stated.

"So…you really would have come if I had only asked?" Martha asked with a shy smile.

"In a hearts beat…" the Doctor stated, and once again pulled her in a hug.

Finally Martha believed him.

"I don't know what to do now?" she whispered. "I don't know if I ever can look Tom in the eye again."

"You don't have to, if you don't want to. Would you mind if I talk to him? I have a few questions, and he's the only one with answers."

"If you feel like you have to, I can't stop you. Promise me one thing though?"

Martha pulled out of the embrace and looked at her friend.

"Promise me that you won't hurt him? Do not stoop to his level," she asked.

"I promise," the Doctor said.

"So, what happens now?" Martha asked.

"Well, I suggest that we leave your mind. I don't mind seeing Gallifrey again, but if we stay like this to long, I'm afraid that I wouldn't want to leave anymore."

"Okay, how do we leave?" Martha asked.

"Oh, I can take care of that." The Doctor said. "Hold on."

He gave her a mischievous grin.

There was a flash of bright white light.

Martha blinked and when her vision swam back into focus, she found herself flat on her back in bed, with the Doctor hovering over her. The man looked exhausted.

"Hello," Martha whispered.

"Hello," The Doctor whispered back.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

The Doctor removed his fingers from her temples and gave her a smile. "Go and get some sleep."

Martha nodded. "Please, Doctor stay with me?" Martha whispered.

The Doctor gave her a look as if he wasn't sure if that was a wise decision.

"I don't want to be alone," Martha added.

The Doctor toed of his shoes and unbuttoned his suit jacket and hung it over a nearby chair, that he pulled closer to the bed.

He sat down and wriggled around in it until he was comfortable. He placed his feet at the foot of the bed and closed his eyes.

Soon, the Time Lord and the human doctor were asleep.

*****

"So…how are we going to get Tom out of the hospital?" Ianto asked.

Jack looked at him. "That's easy… we're going to carry him out."

"We're just going to walk out of the front door with an unconscious doctor?" Ianto asked.

"Yes…" Jack replied curtly.

Ianto hesitated for a moment and shrugged; he had done weirder stuff while working for Torchwood.

Jack walked back to the room where an unconscious Tom still lay prone on the floor. He pulled the man over his shoulder, fireman-style, and made his way back to the lift. Behind him was Ianto, who was carrying the two boxes with evidence of the Doctor's torture. The young man had checked all the labels on all the boxes and had retrieved one more box with photos.

Ianto pushed the button to the ground floor and the lift made its way up.

"What are you going to say if we're stopped at the exit," Ianto queried.

"The truth…" Jack said, and remained silent for the rest.

Ianto remained silent as well and decided to just follow Jack's lead. He knew Jack was furious about what Tom had done. He was mad himself, and he didn't even know Martha all that well.

The lift gave a decisive ping and the doors slid open. Ianto took a deep breath and followed Jack out of the lift. Jack had stepped out and walked across the reception area without even batting an eye.

A lot of people were watching them curiously as they made their way towards the exit. Some started muttering, and some pointed. Jack didn't even look up and purposefully continued walking, as a security guard approached them.

"Stop right there, gentlemen," the man said.

Jack stopped and stared the man in the eye.

"Please, get out of my way," he said.

"No, I will not," the guard said. "You are going to put that man down, gently, and then you and I will wait in my office for the police."

"No, we will not," Jack said and pushed past the guard.

The man was completely taken off guard about that action and stood there, dumbfounded for a slight moment. And in that moment he had recognized Tom.

"What are you doing with Doctor Milligan?" the man yelled.

Jack stopped once again and turned. "I'm taking him with me, so he can _try_ to explain why he's been beating his wife, and kidnapped and tortured one of my best friends."

The guard stood rooted to the spot after that comment.

Jack turned back towards the door and made his way back to Marta's car without stopping once more. Ianto just followed him, he didn't even know what he possibly could have said.

Ianto took the keys from Jack and unlocked the car and slid one of the front seats forward, so Jack could lay Tom on the backseat. But Jack made his way to the boot of the car, opened it and dumped Tom in, and closed the boot again and slid behind the wheel.

Ianto stood there for a second and then sat down in the passenger seat and gave Jack the keys back.

"That was easy enough," Ianto said.

Jack's vocabulary seemed rather limited today, because once again Ianto only got a grunt in reply.

In the ride back to Martha's house, both men were silent; the only sound that was heard was the sound of a now conscious Tom, who was getting very cross in the boot of the car.

When they reached Martha's house, Jack and Ianto got out and opened the boot. Immediately Tom launched himself at them. But Jack and Ianto had been ready and were already pointing their guns at him.

Tom knew better then to piss off Jack any further and climbed out of the boot.

"Move…" Jack ordered, and pushed Tom towards the TARDIS.

Jack put his gun back in its holster and pulled the TARDIS key from his pocket and opened the door and shoved Tom inside the sentient ship.

The human gasped when he saw the huge console room. Jack entered the ship behind Tom and closed the door.

"Move…" Jack ordered again and pushed Tom through the door that lead into the vast interior of the TARDIS.

Jack's hand brushed the wall. "Where do you want me to put him?"

Tom turned his head and looked at Jack in bewilderment.

"You got it, girl," Jack said with a smile.

Jack looked at Tom.

"The TARDIS isn't happy with the fact that you hurt the Doctor… and Martha. She has prepared a room for you, where you can wait until the Doctor is ready _and willing_ to talk to you. Now, you should know that the TARDIS is sentient and what she knows, the Doctor knows and vice versa. She knows how badly you tortured him, because you tortured her too. She will be watching your every move, so don't try and escape. Even_ if_ you managed to escape the room I'll put you in, you won't be able to leave the ship. The TARDIS can change the corridors, you could get lost in here forever…The doors will be locked and only the Doctor or the TARDIS will be able to open them from this moment on."

Tom remained silent throughout Jack's explanation.

A few metres ahead, a door opened by itself; the meaning was clear.

"When will _it_ come and grace me with me with _its_ presence?" Tom sneered.

The lights in the corridor flickered for a second, and then returned to normal; the slight hum in the background became more pronounced for a brief moment as well.

"I think you should know…" Jack said in pleasant tone of voice. "…that you should be grateful that _it _is around to save this planet every time it needs to be saved. _It_ has died several times to save this planet and other planets in the universe. _It_ has given up so much for us, and this is how the Human Race repays _it_? Buster…you have no right to think that that you are better than _it."_

Jack gave Tom the fourth shove of that day and the man stumbled into the room.

"Like I said before; don't call the Doctor 'it', he deserves more than that. And especially don't do that if the TARDIS is in hearing distance."

With a bang the door closed by itself.

*****

Tom glanced around the small room he was now in.

It was about the same size that he had kept _it_ in. There was a wooden chair, it looked a bit more comfortable then he had given _it_, but he found it still to be quite hard when he sat down.

On the wall was, what appeared to be, a modern looking LCD TV. The screen was showing _it_, Martha, and Jack and a whole lot of people that Tom didn't know. And there appeared to be a second _it_. The volume was muted, so Tom couldn't hear what was said, but all of them appeared to be celebrating; including Martha. She was hugging_ it_ and several other people, cheering and clapping joyously with them.

The screen then showed a younger looking Martha, gazing up at the ceiling in wonder and awe; she held her leather jacket in her hand.

The screen then showed Martha and the Doctor walking around the thing in the middle room. They appeared to be talking in a good nature; they were laughing.

A new image; Martha was now alone inside the huge room. She was walking around the thing in the middle of the room and was twiddling the buttons on it. From time to time she was glancing at the same door that Jack had just pushed him through. Suddenly _it_ emerged through that door and started to berate Martha for twiddling the buttons. See, _it _clearly could not be trusted with Martha's safety. But _it_ smiled and took Martha's hand and guided it towards the same buttons and pointed out more. Martha seemed to be smiling.

More and more images of wonderful moments between the Doctor and Martha were shown to Tom by the TARDIS. She hadn't allowed him to hear the words, those moments were private.

She did, however, give him sound with one image.

The Doctor was walking around the console, when a mobile rang.

The Doctor picked it up and answered it. "Francine…?"

He was silent for a moment.

"I'm on my way, Francine. I'm not letting anyone hurt Martha ever again, I promise. I'm setting the coordinates now; I should be there in about five seconds."

The Doctor hung up, and even Tom could see the concern etched on his face.

But that didn't matter. Tom had done what he had done for one reason and one reason only

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	14. The truth about Doctor Milligan, part 2

**I really wanted you all to read the last two chapters to this, so I've combined them!  
Here are the last two chapters (all in one).  
Enjoy!**

The Doctor woke up in immense pain in his lower back.

He glanced over at the bed; Martha was still asleep. Quietly he rose from the chair and pushed it back to its original position. As he made his way to the door, he pushed his hands in the small of his back and bended backwards, ever so slightly, and he definitely felt something protest.

He managed to hold a groan of discomfort in, until he had left the bedroom. He made his way downstairs and heard several people talking in the living room.

Six heads shot up as he entered, and in all of their eyes he could read the same questions, but daren't ask.

'How is Martha? Is she alright? Is she going to be alright?'

The Doctor stood in the middle of the room. "She's going to be fine."

Six people sighed with relief.

"She's traumatised with everything that happened," the Doctor continued. "But… she will be fine. I'll help her in any way that I can."

"So…" Francine asked carefully. "You went into her mind?"

"Yes," the Doctor answered.

"What did you… see?" Tish asked.

"That is for Martha to tell you, not me," the Doctor said, a little warily. "A lot of trust goes into reading someone else's mind, and the fact that Martha allowed me into her mind and talked to me shows that she trusts me. And if I tell you what exactly was going on in Martha's mind is a breach of that trust… and I'm not risking her trust ever again."

"But I'm her sister," Tish insisted. "I want to know."

"Tish, if Martha wants to talk about it with you, she will. But only if _she_ is willing, not because_ you_ want her to, okay?"

Jack stood up and walked to the Doctor.

"None of us would ask you to betray that trust, if Martha wants to tell us, or some of us, then she'll tell us… if she doesn't… that's her right."

The Doctor nodded.

"Is Martha still asleep?" Gwen's voice came out of nowhere.

"Yes… why do you ask?" the Doctor said.

"Well, about an hour ago, I went to check up on you guys and you were both asleep."

The Doctor was silent for a second. "Right… yeah, Martha's still asleep."

"Good," Jack said. "I think that it's best… Tom is waiting for you in the TARDIS. I put him in a room that the TARDIS pointed out for me."

"Right… well it's a good thing that I had some sleep. I want to be at my best when I face him."

"You're not going to hurt him are you?" Jack asked. "…because I'll be _very_ willing to do that for you."

"Oh, I want to hurt him alright," the Doctor said. "But I'm not going to… I promised."

"Erm, Doctor…?" Ianto piped up.

The Doctor looked at him and Ianto continued. "When Jack and I found Tom, we found other stuff as well. It was in boxes. I put both of them underneath the chair in the console room. I did however find this in them." Ianto put his hand in his suit jacket and extracted a small object from its inner pocket and held it out to the Doctor.

It was the TARDIS key.

The Doctor accepted it gratefully, and while muttering a thank you, turned and walked out of the living room, went out the front door and made his way to his beloved ship.

He was ready for his confrontation with Tom.

*****

Martha woke and found that she was alone.

She brushed her hand across her face and winced when she touched the bruises on her lip and under her eye; she had forgotten they were there.

She couldn't believe that the Doctor had actually had come to help her. A small part of her still felt that she didn't deserve it, but she dismissed that feeling. The Doctor wouldn't have come if he didn't care for her. Tom had been wrong.

The Doctor wasn't nothing; he was… well not everything, but he would always have a place in her heart.

Martha still loved him; she just wasn't in love with him anymore. Her feelings had evolved to a point that she could look at the Doctor, and not see a bright and shiny future with him as her… well, she wasn't entirely sure about what exactly; but as her best friend.

And she hoped that he would look at her the same way. The fact that he had come proved that he cared, and that she was his friend. She hoped that he would know that she would help him if he needed her; well… she had already proved that.

She got out of bed and slowly made her way to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror. She looked dreadful. Her eye was closed and her upper lip looked like a doctor had been a little too enthusiastic with the Botox needle. She stepped under the shower and just stood there for a moment, letting the warm water run over her body.

Feeling a little refreshed, physically at least, she put on some clean clothes, and made her way downstairs. She was greeted by a very full living room.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked a little overwhelmed.

Her mother got to her feet and hugged her daughter. "What do you think, sweetheart? We were all worried about you."

Martha pulled out of her mother's embrace and looked at her. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No, Martha," Francine insisted. "You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"I realise that now…but I'm still sorry for not asking for help. I now know that what Tom did to me was wrong and that I needed help to get away from him."

Francine nodded. Yes, her baby was going to be okay.

Martha looked over at Jack. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

The Doctor called," he answered. "And we came. Torchwood will always help you."

"What about if something happens in Cardiff?" Martha asked.

"Mickey is more than capable of holding down the fort," Jack assured her. "And if worst comes to worst, we can be back there in about three seconds."

"Three seconds?"

Jack pointed to his vortex manipulator. "Teleport…"

"What did the Doctor ask you to do?" Martha asked, a bit warily.

"He asked us to go and find Tom," Jack answered. "…which we did. We put him in the TARDIS, on the Doctor's orders. The Doctor is with him now."

Martha made her way to the window. Parked on the pavement in front of her house was indeed the TARDIS. "They're in there now?" she said.

"Yes, the Doctor has a few questions, and Tom's the only one who can give some answers."

*****

The Doctor walked through the console room and through the door that led into the corridors. He didn't know where exactly the TARDIS had placed Tom, but the girl was guiding him, so the man was easy enough to find.

The Doctor entered the room.

Tom glanced over at him, a small smirk on his face.

The Doctor noticed the TV on the wall and a smile appeared on his face as he recognised all those wonderful moments with Martha. It was now showing the two of them standing by the console discussing their next destination.

"I remember that," the Doctor said wistfully. "We couldn't decide between Arbella II and Cardiff in 2257. I wanted to go to Cardiff, a friend of mine has a very good restaurant there; he makes a very mean Shepherd's Pie. Martha, of course, wanted to go to Arbella. She always favoured the alien planets. We went to Arbella, just in case you're wondering."

The Doctor stopped babbling and looked at the human man. The smirk on his face had disappeared and a look of pure hatred was in his eyes.

"You can wipe the hatred from your eyes," the Doctor said. "I know that you hate me."

"Oh, you realised that," Tom said.

"Yes, I'm very observant like that."

A silence fell between the men. They only stared at each other.

"Why didn't you just die?" Tom blurted out.

The Doctor blinked, surprised by the sudden question; but he answered none the less. "It's very difficult to kill a Time Lord."

"My Master was killed with a single bullet. We tortured you for three days, why didn't that kill you?" Tom said.

"Your Master…?" the Doctor asked, shocked.

Tom's eyes became big, he realised that he'd said too much. Then he visibly straightened his shoulders. "Yes, my Master, whom I still serve."

The Doctor looked at him in total bemusement. He had expected to have to work really hard in getting the answers that he wanted. But Tom was giving them freely and without restraint…

Something was wrong…

"You serve the Master?" the Doctor asked. "The Master is dead, so how can you still serve him? You shouldn't even remember him!"

"Me and my fellows have always served our Master loyally," Tom said with a wicked smile.

"But… I don't understand, and I understand everything. The only reason how you could possibly remember The Year is if you've been onboard the Valiant. But Martha told me that you'd died, several hours before time rewound."

"Oh, I was onboard the Valiant alright," Tom told him. "It had taken me a year to finally come in contact with the Legendary Martha Jones, but when I finally did I knew that I was going to be rewarded."

"How?" the Doctor asked.

"I was going to be his right hand man. I was going to be in charge here on Earth, the Master was going to be too busy with the remainder of the universe."

The Doctor gave a snort of laughter. "You do know of course, that the second he'd taken control of the universe, he would have killed you. The Master doesn't share power."

"He would with me… he gave his word." Tom said, with the utmost confidence.

The Doctor gave him a sad smile. "You keep on thinking that."

The Doctor sighed. "So… how did you get onboard the Valiant?"

"With a helicopter…" Tom said.

The Doctor glared at him.

Tom laughed. "My Master faked my death at his hands. And my 'body' was then taken onboard the Valiant. My Master knew that you would eventually try and pull something. He knew that if the paradox was broken, time would be rewound. And he never told me to forgo my mission in that unlikely event."

"And your mission was…?"

"To find Martha Jones, befriend her, and never let her out of my sight again."

"That was it?" the Doctor asked, puzzled of this weird 'mission'.

"My Master knew that you and Martha were very good friends. I, or my one of my fellows, had to destroy the trust between the two of you."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you…but you failed."

"Martha is thoroughly convinced that you bring her nothing but pain. So, no, I haven't failed."

"Yes Tom, you failed," the Doctor said. "Martha went catatonic after you left the house. She allowed me into her mind, and we talked and we made peace with each other. Martha trusts me. Fully…"

Tom stared at the Time Lord. "She wouldn't… I made sure of it" he whispered.

"She would…" the Doctor whispered back in a blunt tone.

Tom sat down on the chair. "I've failed, I've failed my Master.

"No, you haven't failed him. You can't fail him, because he's dead." The Doctor crouched down in front of him.

Out of nowhere, Tom lunged at him.

Because the Doctor was taken completely by surprise, Tom managed to get the upper hand immediately. The two men crashed to the floor. Tom's hands were tightly wrapped around the Doctor's throat. The Doctor struggled against the tight grip.

"Die, Time Lord. Die and my Master can have his revenge."

That sentence gave the Doctor strength.

He tightened his own grip on Tom's wrists and wrenched them free from his throat. Despite being flat on his back, the Doctor managed to sling his leg around Tom's waist and flip them over. Quickly the Doctor got to his feet and took a few steps away from Tom.

The Doctor was breathing heavily. What had he meant with 'The Master can have his revenge'? The Master was dead… wasn't he? Yes, he was; the Doctor was sure of it. He had felt the life slip from his body. He had burned his remains, there was nothing left of the Master.

"Revenge…?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Tom gave a maniacal laughter. "My Master made sure that you would always pay."

"Pay for what…?" the Doctor asked.

"For beating him," Tom answered. "My Master knew that there was a possibility that you would defeat him. If I wasn't discovered… then I had received the honour to do with you what I pleased and then kill you. My Master's revenge… His only wish was that your death would be painful, he said that 'It's more than _it_ deserves'."

The Doctor looked at Tom in utter revulsion. He couldn't believe that Tom was capable of torturing a man, simply because he'd been ordered to.

"But why…?" the Doctor whispered.

"Why what…?" Tom sneered.

"Why abuse Martha…?"

Tom gave him a bright smile. "Because it was fun…"

"Right, and the reason you filmed me while torturing me is… what?" the Doctor asked, almost sounding bored.

"What… someone can't enjoy a few home made movies?" Tom answered in an innocent tone of voice.

The Doctor had heard all that he needed and walked out of the room; he could figure out the rest for himself. The TARDIS closed the door behind him, and locked it firmly.

The Doctor walked out of the ship and back to Martha's house.

*****

Martha saw the Doctor exit his TARDIS.

She walked out of the living room and opened the front door for him. The Doctor didn't stop walking until his arms were wrapped tightly around Martha's waist.

"I'm so sorry…" he whispered.

"What for…?" Martha asked.

"For Tom… it's my fault; all of it."

"How can that possibly your fault?"

"Because… I remember him leaving the Valiant. I didn't know that _that_ was Tom Milligan. If I'd only known…" the Doctor answered.

Martha looked at him in bemusement. "Come on…"

She took his hand and dragged him to the living room. "Please sit down and explain."

And the Doctor did.

"He's always been under orders from the Master."

Several people gasped, but the Doctor continued. "He probably met the Master somewhere at the beginning of The Year. The Master knew that there was a possibility that I would be able to beat him, like I had been in the past. And he took precautions. He made sure that Tom was completely convinced of the Master's powers. He was even promised control of the Earth after the Master had taken control of the universe. And there was no doubt in Tom's mind that he would become the master of Earth. His initial mission, as he described it, was to find you, Martha, become your friend, poison your mind against me, and eventually hand you over to the Master. Professor Docherty had almost the same mission, but neither knew that. For a year you eluded Tom, but in the end he was the one of the few specially selected people, and he was the one who received the 'honour' to placed himself at the right point to pick you up, when you returned to England."

Francine returned at that moment from the kitchen with a tray filled with tea mugs, and started to hand them out.

"Tom then 'died' when you left the safe house in London. Remember Martha, the Master killed him with his laser screwdriver?"

Martha nodded.

"He didn't die. The Master merely stunned him and he was brought onboard the Valiant, and like the rest of us, he remembers exactly what happened during The Year. But after the Master died, Tom's mission didn't stop. And it turned out he had received a second mission… which was to hunt me down, torture and kill me… all so the Master could have revenge."

Martha rose from her seat and started pacing up and down the living room. "But why…? Why did he hit me? Have you asked him that?"

The Doctor stood as well. "Yes, I've asked him."

Martha looked him the eye, when he stopped. "Well…?" she asked him roughly.

"He said that he found it to be fun," the Doctor said in a subdued tone.

Martha put her hand over her mouth and ran from the room. Moments later, they could all hear her retching in the kitchen.

The Doctor followed her. He grabbed a towel and held it under cold running water. Martha rinsed her mouth, and allowed him to wipe her forehead.

She leaned heavily against the counter, not saying a word.

After a while, she muttered, "Because it was fun?"

The Doctor could only nod.

"Could you give me moment?" she whispered.

"Of course," the Doctor said and went back to the living room.

The people in the living room had remained silent in the Doctor's and Martha's absence.

"Martha only needs a moment," he said.

Jack nodded and walked up to him. "That answers just about all our questions about the 'why'. But how did he manage to capture you?"

"Well, I can show you that," the Doctor answered. He pulled Martha's old mobile from his pocket and handed it to Jack. "Check out the text messages."

Jack did. "_Hey Doctor, can u pls come 2 d hosp? Dere's sumthng dat u need 2 c. I'll wait 4 u in d basement. U can park d TARDIS dere safely. X"__, _Jack read out loud.

"But…I never sent that!" Martha exclaimed, she had just entered the living room again.

"I know that now…" the Doctor replied, turning to face her. "But at the time I had no reason to doubt it. I landed the TARDIS in the basement and stepped out. I felt something sharp and I passed out; woke up tied to a chair."

"You were in the basement of the hospital where I work?" Martha whispered.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes…"

Tears started to form in her eyes again. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "You must have thought that I was behind it."

"No, Martha!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I never thought that, I knew that you would _never_ do that to me."

A silence fell.

"So…" Jack said. "What are we going to do with him? Tossing him in front of a pair of angry lions sounds nice…or throwing him from a cliff sounds great… or…"

"Jack!" the Doctor's voice interjected warily. "I think I know a place."

The Doctor once again locked eyes with Martha. "Somewhere out there is a Time Lord prison, called Shada. There the Time Lords locked up the most dangerous creatures in the universe; Daleks, Cybermen, and so on. The prisoners were suspended in time, making escape impossible. And the prisoners were shifting from holding cell to holding cell at random, so that made it even more impossible for an attempt at a rescue. Now, since all Time Lords are gone Shada has become… not a very nice place to be, because of lack of power, most of the holding cells will have deactivated and all those prisoners could possibly be roaming around. I haven't been there in a long time, so I can't be sure about that."

"Will he be aware?" Martha asked. "I mean, will he know that he's suspended in time?"

"Yes, he'll know, " the Doctor answered. "And it is quite possible that other prisoners that could pass their time tormenting him; but they won't be able to physically hurt him, because they can't get to him. I'm the only one left who knows where it is, so he will be gone for the rest of his life. I could take him there?"

Martha nodded. "Do we have to take him to an alien prison? What about a human prison?"

"We could do that," Jack said. "…but what about that other prison? I've heard stories about it… something about it being on an ice planet? What was it called…? Gulak… Golak…?"

"You mean Volag Noc?" Martha asked.

"Yeah…," Jack cheered, but asked a bit amused. "How did you know… You've been there, haven't you?"

Martha smiled and nodded. "Can you take him there, Doctor? It will make me feel better if he's in a place I know. Or we could just take him to the police, he would still go to jail… right?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, he'd still go to jail. And if that's a human prison or an alien prison… that's up to you, Martha."

"Can I think…? I want to talk to him," Martha said, making her mind up.

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes."

"Okay, but I'm not letting you talk to him alone. I'm staying with you in that room," the Doctor said, and Martha could see in his eyes that he wouldn't budge.

But Martha was very glad that he was going to be there, so she hadn't even thought about contradicting him.

Martha walked to the front door and made her way to the waiting time ship.

*****

Before she could change her mind, Martha strode through the corridors and as if on cue the TARDIS opened the door to the room, where Tom was held.

"You tortured the Doctor," she said.

She was focusing on Tom and she barely noticed that the Doctor entered the room behind her and closed the door.

"_It_ deserved it," Tom said, looking over her shoulder at the Doctor.

"And did I deserve to be beaten up?" Martha asked.

"I did that for your own good. I had to find a way to show you that the Doctor is bad for you. That the only thing he gives you is pain."

"You're right," Martha said. "The Doctor has hurt me in the past. But you've hurt me more. You've hurt me physically, the Doctor would never do that."

"If you say so," Tom sneered.

"You truly have no regrets, don't you?" Martha asked, genuinely intrigued.

Tom shook his head. "I did what my Master wanted of me."

"Your Master? Your Master wanted you to beat me up on a regular basis? Your Master wanted you to torture the Doctor?"

"Yes," Tom answered.

Martha looked her husband in the eye. "I want a divorce."

Tom merely shrugged.

Martha turned to face the Doctor. "Can I ask you something, Doctor?

"Of course," he answered.

"Can I come with you again? Can I come and see the stars and planets and aliens? Can I come and run for my life on an almost daily basis? Can I come and… Can we go out there and be each other's best friend again?"

"Martha Jones, I'd be honoured," the Doctor answered.

"What…!" Tom yelled. "After everything, you're going with _it_ again?"

Martha turned back to face Tom. "Doctor, would you please take him to Volag Noc? That's a perfect place for him. He can stay there for three years. I think that the winter climate could be good for him."

"A winter climate?" Tom said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Martha looked him in the eye. "You're going to a prison called Volag Noc. It's roughly 3000 years into the future and several million light years from Earth. It's located under several metres of ice and therefore it can become a little chilly."

It came cold and detached, but the Doctor knew that that was the only way for Martha to cope with this.

"What?" Tom yelled. "How dare you take me to some planet? I'm respected here! I am a Doctor! I have rights…"

Tom continued screaming as Martha and the Doctor left the room. When the door was closed again Martha leaned against the wall and slid down.

Totally and utterly spend…

***

Only a day later, Martha had packed all of her clothes, and had put the house for sale and had moved back into the TARDIS.

******

The setting sun had a deep purple hue.

Martha was sure; this sunset was her number one favourite.

She took a deep breath and felt the Doctor's hand enclose hers. His hand felt familiar and safe.

Tom was now on Volag Noc. The Governor had owed the Doctor a favour and had been willing to imprison Tom. He would remain there for three years, and then the Doctor would return him to Earth. His imprisonment would last as long as Martha's had.

Jack had already promised to keep an eye on him, once the man had returned to Earth.

"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm good," Martha answered.

Her free hand wandered down to her stomach. She'd been with the Doctor for two months now, and the Doctor had done a scan that had confirmed it.

Inside her body, her baby was now growing. Not Tom's baby, _her_ baby. Tom would never see his child; the Doctor had promised her that.

It had been a shock to find out about her pregnancy, but an abortion had never crossed her mind. She wasn't capable of something like that. And this child couldn't help what kind of father it had. Martha was going to love this child without measure.

"Are you sure that I can stay with you?" Martha asked him.

"Of course I'm sure. Why do you ask?"

"Well, once I start showing, I can't run anymore; people might think that this baby is yours, you know. I'm just checking if you're okay with it."

"Martha, you are my friend. So I won't hold it against your stomach that after a while you can't run anymore. That's your stomachs fault, not yours. And if people think that this baby is mine, well… then I'll correct them."

The Doctor gave a happy smile and pulled her back towards the TARDIS.

The Doctor couldn't see the brief flash of annoyance that crossed Martha's face when he said that. But then she smiled, that answer was _so_ the Doctor; she had expected it.

"Now… how about checking out that baby supply market I mentioned before… Or lunch in Cardiff in 2257? Come on… please, I'm dying to introduce you to…"

The doors slammed closed behind the two time travellers.

New adventures were waiting…

THE END AND TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
